Nigeria’s Internet Exchange Point (IXPN) has achieved a peak internet traffic of 500 Gbps, an increase from last year’s 300 Gbps. By facilitating the exchange of internet traffic locally, IXPN aims to curtail offshore internet bandwidth payments, saving millions of scarce FX, and concurrently diminishing latency for local content consumers.
IXPN’s Chief Executive Officer, Muhammed Rudman, attributed this achievement to the active participation of numerous global and local content providers exchanging traffic locally through the exchange point. He stated, “We are delighted to report that IXPN has passed the 500 Gbps peak local Internet traffic threshold. This is attributed to the deployment of robust infrastructure in all our locations across the country, with little or no downtime throughout our years of operation.”
A report by the Internet Society underscores the significant cost advantage of accessing traffic or content at the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria compared to accessing it abroad. According to Rudman, “In early 2020, the port charge at IXPN was US$0.428 per month per Mbps for a 1 Gbps port, whereas the cost of international IP transit for the same capacity was US$27.45 per Mbps per month.” Accessing traffic or content at IXPN was approximately $27 less expensive per Mbps per month than accessing it internationally, resulting in savings of over $40 million per year for those utilizing IXPN’s services.
Rudman highlighted that these savings have led to numerous Internet Service Providers (ISPs) expanding their businesses and creating opportunities for new ISPs to enter the market, resulting in an increase in local total internet traffic. Localizing internet traffic in Nigeria ensures that accessing domestic content prevents it from routing through international providers, aiding in foreign exchange savings, crucial amidst the recent FX crisis affecting businesses.
“We believe that hosting content locally is the way to go as it is the only way to grow capacity and technical competence within Nigeria, thereby creating more jobs for the populace,” he added.
IXPN plans to improve its traffic to 1 terabits by the close of 2024. IXPs play essential roles in enabling efficient internet traffic exchange, reducing latency, and facilitating network interconnection for local and international networks, content providers, and internet service providers (ISPs). Regional IXPs such as Teraco’s NAPAfrica already have more than 2 Tbps while Amsterdam’s Internet Exchange Point have over 10 Tbps daily.
