Rwanda will house the administrative secretariat of the African internet exchange points association. The latter, in partnership with the Internet Society, signed an agreement in that regard with the Rwanda Internet Community and Technology Alliance (RICTA).
According to local media The New Times, the agreement follows the successful completion of a call for proposals aimed at helping the African IXP association develop its governance structure and administrative capacity in order to more effectively manage its growing activities.
Kyle Spencer, Co-Coordinator of Af-IX and Executive Director of Uganda Internet Exchange Point (UIXP), says the agreement is a major milestone in the development of the African Internet ecosystem. He says “it clearly reflects our industry’s extraordinary growth and our community’s strong spirit of cooperation” and believes that Rwanda is a good choice to establish Af-IX’s secretariat regarding its “central geographic location, business friendly market environment, and fluency in multiple regional languages.”
According to Dawit Bekele who manages the Africa Regional Bureau at the Internet Society, the move will “create a truly interconnected Africa with the support of RICTA which has shown expertise and commitment to promoting IXPs all around the continent.” He stressed the Internet Society will continue to support Af-IX and RICTA to make sure that no local Internet traffic has to leave Africa.
Created in 2012, the African IXP association now operates 44 Internet exchange points in 32 countries with daily flows of more than 725 gigabyte per second through internetworks.