AF-CIX, New Interconnect Exchange Platform Berths To Improve Internet Speed

A new interconnect exchange platform, AF-CIX, has been launched in Nigeria to boost internet speed  and improve network performance for Internet Service Providers, Content Delivery Networks, Cloud Providers and Enterprises.

The platform hosted in Rack Centre- as part of innovations to support the growth of the internet in Africa through effective and functional traffic localisation, enterprise digitisation acceleration, and community support, among other reasons- is specifically designed to complement the role of Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria by providing a redundant path for local traffic exchange and a robust Interconnect Exchange through its partnership with DE-CIX.

According to the head of Peering and Exchange Platforms, Obinna Adumike, creating the platform became necessary to improve network performance by keeping traffic local, thereby reducing the number of networks hops that Internet traffic needs to take. He explained that AF-CIX connects networks by eliminating routing traffic through international circuits, thereby making the Internet faster and more responsive for users resulting in lower latency and higher output.

Speaking on the innovation, Adumike explained that integrating AF-CIX to DE-CIX will no doubt help Nigerian businesses have direct access to the entire portfolio of DE-CIX, thereby offering them access to networks in more than 150 cities and over 80+ countries. He stated that with the platform, participants or businesses would enjoy the largest aggregation of Cloud, content, and CDN providers worldwide with direct integration to more than 20 IXPs across the globe.

Commenting on the benefits of connecting to the platform, he noted that any business linked to it, would undoubtedly witness improved network performance, increased connectivity, lower costs, and better security while also serving as a huge asset. He explained further that with the platform, every participant is guaranteed to enjoy exceptional interconnect services and values, and an updated and advanced approach to traffic engineering and management.

“Connection to AF-CIX means a lot to every participant given that benefits such as cross-connection, peering, and port access to the platform are obtained freely at Rack Centre. With the platform, advanced Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks are mitigated through its integrated, advanced Blackholing service. The platform is also developed for localisation of internet enhancing services like Root DNS servers and NTP Stratum servers’’, he added.

The platform, according to him, is meant to provide for a future of converged interconnection across internet players giving seamless opportunities to interconnect locally across verticals for various sectors or industries.