BGC Partners to Create Microwave Network Between Chicago and New Jersey

BGC Partners, the global wholesale broker, teamed with Thesys Technologies to form Epsilon Networks, a company to invest in developing a high-speed microwave network for financial trading firms, starting with the fastest route between Illinois and New Jersey.

Thesys Technologies is an infrastructure company owned by Tradeworx Inc., the high frequency trading firm located in Redbank, N.J.

The new financial information network is designed to transmit critical data related to the futures, equities, fixed income and other markets, between the data centers of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in Aurora, Ill., Nasdaq in Cartaret, New Jersey, and that of BGC and ELX Futures which are both the same data center in Rochelle Park, New Jersey.

The microwave information network is expected to be operational during Q4 2012.

The initial route will transmit data and trading information between Chicago and New Jersey at an estimated latency of under 8.5 microseconds (mS) per roundtrip, providing significant advantages over fiber data network solutions. It also intends to be faster than all available commercial microwave network offerings.

In addition to leasing bandwidth, Epsilon Networks will introduce a Fast Financials Feed (FFF) which the company said will combine proprietary data delivery techniques with the efficiencies of the microwave network route. Customers will benefit from access to ultra-low latency data, enabling faster trading decisions and superior access to the financial marketplace, according to the release. FFF components will initially include access to BGC’s US Treasuries data products and through collaboration with data distributors, CME futures and equities data.

“We are constantly assessing new ways to further our position as one of the world's premier suppliers of real-time, low latency trading solutions,” commented Philip Norton, executive managing director of e-commerce at BGC Partners in the firm’s release. “Building the fastest high speed microwave information network will offer our customers a more rapid route to price discovery and arm them with the best tools possible to make smart trading decisions,” added Norton.

According to Richard Feldman, director of BGC’s Strategic Transactions Group (STG), “The STG Group is is focused on identifying and evaluating new technologies, business investment and acquisition opportunities for BGC that align with our core markets and our customers’ needs while seeking to deliver attractive returns that will contribute to generating long-term value for our shareholders.”

Manoj Narang, CEO of Tradeworx, Inc., the parent company of Thesys Technologies, commenting in the same release, said: “We are delighted to partner with BGC in building the fastest microwave information network between Chicago and New Jersey, paving the way for improved price discovery and trading.”

This follows an announcement earlier this month that Tradeworx was licensing a market data and research platform to the SEC to enable the regulatory body to better oversee the equities and options markets. Ivy is Editor-at-Large for Advanced Trading and Wall Street & Technology. Ivy is responsible for writing in-depth feature articles, daily blogs and news articles with a focus on automated trading in the capital markets. As an industry expert, Ivy has reported on a myriad ... View Full Bio