Durban has followed Johannesburg and Cape Town in launching a dedicated Internet exchange point, which will help manage Internet traffic and reduce connectivity costs.
The Internet Service Providers’ Association of SA (ISPA), which already manages the Johannesburg and Cape Town exchange points, the two largest in Africa, takes charge of the project.
Internet exchange points assist Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in offering reliable Internet by easing the sharing of Internet traffic. It also makes hosting servers easier with the reliability that the exchange point offers.
“While Durban has traditionally been a smaller Internet market than Johannesburg or Cape Town, it is also fast becoming a key telecommunications distribution hub with three major under-seas cables now landing a short distance up the North Coast at Mtunzini,” said Graham Beneke, Chair of ISPA’s INX Working Group.
He added that the increased telecommunication capacity has catapulted Internet traffic in the region.
“ISPA builds INXs where there is current demand and scope for future growth. We have high hopes for the Durban exchange point,” Beneke said.
The ISPA’s INX Working group is the team driving the policy and technical operations of the Internet Exchange Points.
“Regionalising Internet traffic contributes directly to improved interconnection costs and resilience which are both critical in building an affordable and stable environment in which digital platforms can thrive,” said Nishal Goburdhan, ISPA’s newly appointed Exchange Point manager.
The Internet Society’s study on the impact of Internet Exchange points in Kenya and Nigeria found that they have the potential to reduce costs while also increasing traffic by bypassing redundancy of sending local Internet traffic outside the country at the same time. The study, conducted in April this year, shows that Kenya and Nigeria save up to US$1 million each year courtesy of the internal Internet exchange points.
