(Ecofin Agency) - The Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) will now interconnect internet exchange points of the various West African countries. By going regional, the IXPN “will help not only to localise Internet traffic within the region, but reduce cost and latency, at the same time unlocking the potentials for digital economy allowing Internet related businesses to thrive,” Muhammed Rudman (photo), IPXN CEO said.

The telecom infrastructure created in 2006 in collaboration with the Internet Service Providers Association of Nigeria (ISPAN) was upgraded thanks to the financial and technical support of the African Union Commission via the AXIS project (the African Internet Exchange System).

Co-financed by the EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund, the AXIS project has already contributed to the creation of about thirty national exchange points in Africa.

According to Moses Bayingana, project manager for AXIS, “Africa has been paying overseas carriers to exchange intra-continental traffic on our behalf. This is both costly as well as inefficient. With regional IXPs in Africa exchanging intra-regional traffic locally, this will reduce the latency and save costs by eliminating the international transit through overseas carriers.”