Federal government opens another Internet exchange point

In an effort to improve the poor state of local Internet traffic routing in Nigeria, the federal government Thursday in Abuja commissioned another exchange point.
Cleopas Angaye, director-general of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), who spoke at the commissioning of the Abuja Office of the Nigerian Internet Exchange Point, said high cost of access and low quality of service are some of the factors inhibiting more rapid adoption of the Internet in Nigeria.
"Therefore to speed up the spread of Internet in Nigeria, the cost of Internet connectivity and bandwidth must be reduced and the quality of service improved," he said. "One of the most effective mechanisms of achieving this is Internet exchange point." An Internet Exchange Point (IXP) interconnects Internet service providers in a region or country, allowing them to exchange domestic Internet traffic locally without having to send those messages across multiple international hubs to reach their destination.
Citing an example, Mr Angaye said that in the absence of IXP in Nigeria, Internet traffic originating from one ISP to a destination of another IXP being just miles away has to make a round the world trip, thus consuming international bandwidth which, if avoided, would save the country foreign exchange.
He said IXPs are crucial for the development of the Internet in any country, as not only do they reduce the cost of Internet traffic by keeping local traffic local, but they enable additional applications which have a considerable multiplier effect on the economy.
Mr Angaye said the primary purpose of IXP is to allow networks to interconnect directly via the exchange point rather than through one or more third party networks.
"Traffic going overseas means transit charges are paid to upstream Internet Service Providers which are not located in Nigeria," he said. "By keeping traffic local, means money stays in local economy and in essence cheaper Internet access for all consumers which in turn provides wider access. Currently, most of the content targeted to Nigerian users is posted abroad, mostly in the US, leading to significant outflow of foreign exchange. A better Internet infrastructure will attract this content to be hosted in Nigeria and will encourage Nigerian companies to host content on Nigerian servers and thus also encourage .ng domain."
Create more jobs
The NITDA official also said the promotion of local Internet content will create more jobs for Nigerians.
Bashiru Gwandu, executive commissioner of Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), said hosting IXP in Nigeria will reduce unnecessary use of international bandwidth.
"For instance, if you are sending an email from Abuja to Lagos, it doesn't have to go abroad and come back. It can be exchanged locally," he said.
He said although consumers may not see immediate benefit, but there will be reduction in the overall cost.
Mr Gwandu said in addition to some exchange points in Lagos, there are plans to set up similar points in other areas of the country, especially Kano, Maiduguri and Enugu after the commissioning of the Abuja office.