PCH

What PCH does

Packet Clearing House (PCH) is an intergovernmental treaty organization founded in 1994 and headquartered in Berkeley (with San Francisco office operations), California. It operates as a public-benefit, educational not-for-profit providing operational support and security for critical Internet infrastructure, with a primary focus on Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) and the core of the Domain Name System. PCH assists in the construction of IXPs, supplying equipment, training, and ongoing operational support; over 30 years it has helped build more than half of the world's IXPs and provided some form of assistance to more than half of all global IXPs. The organization also maintains the global IXP directory and publishes statistics on IXP use and growth.

PCH pioneered the use of DNS anycast in 1997 for top-level domain nameservers and in 2001 for root nameservers, and today operates the largest authoritative DNS service network in the world: thousands of servers across 337 locations hosting multiple root letters and nearly 400 top-level domains. It is the operator of the only FIPS 140-2 Level 4 DNSSEC signing platform other than the root zone itself, providing cryptographic signature services at the highest U.S. federal security certification level. Beyond core infrastructure, PCH offers Digital Emblems services, Positioning/Navigation/Timing (PNT) services, BGP diagnostic tools (Looking Glass, Prefix-Sanity Checker, MRT Routing Updates, Daily Routing Snapshots), and regulatory/policy workshops.

PCH's business model is not-for-profit; rather than commercial product pricing, the organization is funded through sponsors, donations, and educational workshop revenue, with volunteer contributions and grants sustaining operations. Its customer base spans Internet Service Providers, network operators, Internet Exchange Points, governments, regulatory bodies, and the operators of top-level domains globally. PCH conducts more than 100 workshops each year on Internet regulatory theory, governance, and economics, reaching audiences from ISP engineers to government ministers, and works in conjunction with organizations including ICANN, the Internet Governance Forum, OECD, the five Regional Internet Registries, NetMundial, and global network operator groups.

Name

PCH

Legal name

Packet Clearing House

Website

https://pch.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Packet Clearing House (PCH) is a non-profit intergovernmental treaty organization providing operational support and security for critical Internet infrastructure, including Internet Exchange Points and the Domain Name System. PCH serves ISPs, network operators, IXPs, and governments across 337 locations worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Not-for-profit operations: PCH is described as a public-benefit, educational not-for-profit organization that exists to serve the public and business writ large. The organization advances the ability of businesses to provide Internet services reliably, resiliently, securely, profitably, and at low cost. Revenue appears to come from sponsors, donations, and educational workshops rather than commercial product sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

PCH is an intergovernmental treaty organization that provides operational support and security to critical Internet infrastructure, including Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) and the core of the Domain Name System. Its core offerings include IXP construction, equipment provisioning, training, and ongoing operational support; Anycast DNS service hosting; FIPS 140-2 Level 4 DNSSEC signing services; and regulatory and policy education through more than 100 workshops annually.

Product overview

Packet Clearing House (PCH) is an intergovernmental treaty organization that provides operational support and security for critical Internet infrastructure. PCH operates a multi-product portfolio centered on Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) — physical interconnection facilities where ISPs exchange traffic — and the Core of the Domain Name System, which includes Anycast DNS and DNSSEC services. The IXPs service includes the IXP Directory (a global registry) and support tools. The DNS infrastructure spans thousands of servers across 337 locations, hosting nearly 400 top-level domains. Beyond core infrastructure services, PCH offers educational and research resources including peering surveys, tutorials on IPv6 peering and network security, routing data feeds, and governance calendar tools. Additional services include Digital Emblems, Regulatory & Policy workshops, and PNT services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IXP Directory: Global directory of Internet Exchange Points maintained by PCH
• Anycast DNS
• DNSSEC
• Digital Emblems
• PNT

Products and services

• Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) Physical locations and infrastructure where Internet Service Providers interconnect their networks to exchange traffic; PCH assists in construction and provides equipment, training, and ongoing operational support, having helped build more than half of the world's IXPs over three decades.
• Anycast DNS Distributed DNS service using anycast technology to distribute DNS load among many servers in many locations, making the Domain Name System faster, more scalable, and more resilient against attack; PCH has been anycasting TLD nameservers since 1997 and root nameservers since 2001.
• DNSSEC Signing Platform Cryptographic digital signature services for the Domain Name System at FIPS 140-2 Level 4 certification, providing the highest available DNSSEC validation assurance outside the root zone.
• IXP Directory Global directory of Internet Exchange Points maintained by PCH, providing searchable listings of IXP locations and statistics on IXP use and growth worldwide.
• Looking Glass BGP-speaking diagnostic tool that peers with network participants and allows for debugging, diagnostic, and research purposes on routing data.
• Prefix-Sanity Checker Tool for validating and checking prefix sanity in routing configurations, helping identify potential issues in BGP announcements.
• Cable System Database tracking submarine cable systems and their landing stations, supporting infrastructure analysis for global Internet connectivity.
• Internet Governance Calendar Global calendar of Internet operations and governance meetings, maintained in conjunction with Internet governance organizations including IGF, OECD, ICANN, and the Regional Internet Registries.
• Digital Emblems Service related to digital emblem protection and management for brands and organizations.
• Regulatory and Policy Workshops Workshop and educational services covering Internet regulatory theory, governance, and economics for audiences ranging from ISP engineers to government ministers; PCH conducts more than 100 such workshops annually.
• PNT (Positioning, Navigation, and Timing) Precision navigation and timing services as part of critical Internet infrastructure support.

Quantifiable outcome

• PCH has helped build more than half of the world's IXPs over 30 years
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Internet Governance Forum (IGF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPCH works in conjunction with and in support of the Internet Governance Forum, participating in this global multi-stakeholder platform for Internet governance discussions.
• OECDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPCH collaborates with the OECD on Internet governance policy discussions and economic analysis of Internet infrastructure.
• ICANNcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPCH works with ICANN on domain name system operations, DNSSEC, and Internet governance policy matters.
• Regional Internet Registries (RIRs)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPCH collaborates with the five Regional Internet Registries (ARIN, RIPE NCC, APNIC, LACNIC, AfriNIC) on IP address allocation policy and Internet number resource governance.
• NetMundialmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPCH participates in NetMundial, the global multistakeholder meeting on Internet governance and cybersecurity.
• Global Network Operators GroupscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPCH works with global network operators groups (such as NANOG, RIPE, APRICOT) on Internet operations and governance.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pchglobal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/packet-clearing-house

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PCH