Facebook is involved in efforts to build IXP more and more in Africa and strengthen network lines

By Andrew Hart

In order to provide a more comfortable Internet environment, a mechanism of IXP ( Internet exchange ) connecting two or more service providers and data centers is indispensable, but Africa where the Internet is in the process of being popular does not have this IXP There are countries. Therefore, the non-profit organization " Internet Society " aiming to promote the open use of the Internet is promoting efforts to spread IXP to African countries by working with Facebook, the largest Facebook user.

Internet Society Partners with Facebook to Expand Internet Connectivity in Africa | Internet Society
https://www.internetsociety.org/news/press-releases/2018/internet-society-partners-with-facebook-to-expand-internet-connectivity-in-africa/

According to the Internet Society, as of September 2018, 42% of African countries do not have IXP in the country. Therefore, in these countries, most of the Internet traffic that occurs domestically is using foreign IXP via submarine cables and satellites. Under this condition, bottleneck is originally occurring in Internet traffic to be completed domestically, the end user's Internet convenience is impaired, and there is also a problem in the development of the ecosystem related to the Internet in the country .

In addition, due to the shortage of domestic IXP, Internet service providers (ISPs) are forced to pay expensive royalties for overseas lines. Once the domestic IXP is upgraded, these problems will be solved, which will lead to a raise in the Internet environment of the whole country through improvement of domestic Internet infrastructure.

By Allan

So the Internet Society has started partnering with Facebook and initiating efforts to spread IXP in African countries. In addition to the introduction of equipment necessary for IXP, efforts include staff training and strengthening relationships with stakeholders in Japan. Dawit Bekere, who is a director at the Africa region branch of the Internet Society, said, "By 2020, we aim to locally carry 80% of the domestic traffic and outsource the remaining 20% ​​out of the country It is said. "

According to Africa IXP Association (African IXP Association: Af-IX), 44 IXPs are operated in 32 countries in Africa. This is a growth of 275% in the decade since 2008, during which time the bandwidth of the Internet line in Africa's IXP has increased from 0.16 Gbps to 412 Gbps, indeed more than 2,500 times, more than 800 networks Has expanded to the state where it is connected to IXP.

AFIX - 2017 Benchmark Survey Report.pdf
(PDF) https://www.af-ix.net/sites/default/files/AFIX%20-%202017%20Benchmark%20Survey%20Report.pdf