AFR-IX telecom expands its peering network with KINIX, a strategic centre to improve connectivity in Central African
- The company strengthens its Pan-African Network, which currently has five African IXPs in Nigeria, South Africa, Djibouti, the recent addition of Kenya and the latest in DRC.
- KINIX (Kinshasa Internet eXchange point) is a neutral Layer 2 associative Internet exchange point resulting from the DRC-IX project.
Kinshasa, DRC, 24th March 2021 – AFR-IX telecom, a global Internet service provider operating in more than 50 countries in Africa that delivers data and Internet services for businesses, international carriers and telecom operators, is expanding its peer-to-peer network with an agreement with KINIX – Kinshasa Internet Exchange Point, located in Democratic Republic of the Congo.
AFR-IX peers with KinIX
AFR-IX thus reinforces its Pan-African Network, which currently has five IXPs – Internet Exchange Points -in Africa: NAPAfrica (South Africa), IXPN (Nigeria), DjIX (Djibouti), the recent addition of Asteroid IXP Mombasa (Kenya) and the latest in Kinshasa – KINIX. The activation of this last IXP in DRC is strategic for the company, as it facilitates peering Congolese ISPs as well as international networks, thus reinforcing connectivity in the Central sub-region of the continent located in Kinshasa, DRC.
According to the African IXP Association, there are 46 active IXPs across 34 African countries. South Africa has the most, followed by Tanzania and Nigeria. Many of these were established within the last decade and have grown significantly with over 1,000 networks now connected.
About KinIX
KinIX (KINshasa Internet eXchange point) is a neutral Layer 2 associative Internet exchange point resulting from the DRC-IX project. It offers:
- local and national peering ;
- remote peering ;
- unicast
KinIX is managed by the Internet Service Provider Association of DRC (ISPA), a consortium funded by all the country’s operators, including the four mobile operators – Airtel, Vodacom, Orange and Africell .
The RDC-IX project is the modern infrastructure of New Information and Communication Technologies contributing to the implementation of associative and neutral exchange points (IXP) throughout the different cities of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This project will allow local traffic between Internet operators located in the same city to remain local and also traffic between Internet operators scattered throughout the country’s different cities to remain national; thus avoiding the multiple satellite hops that these operators currently experience to exchange content.
In addition, RDC-IX will become the natural location for hosting a host of other services that will reduce bandwidth requirements while improving speed, quality of service, reliability and also contributing to the reduction of the digital divide so decried as a barrier to participation in the modernity process. In the short and medium term, the KINIX (KINshasa Internet eXchange), GOMIX (GOMa Internet eXchange) and LUBIX (LUBambashi Internet eXchange) Internet points will form the backbone of DRC-IX.
About AFR-IX telecom
AFR-IX telecom is a licensed telecommunication operator that delivers Data, MPLS, SDN and advanced Managed solutions in Africa to Corporates, International Carriers and Telecommunication Operators in Africa.
AFR-IX Telecom already Holder of licenses in Spain (CNMC electronic and submarine), Portugal (Anacom), USA (FCC), Nigeria (NCC), Ghana (NCC), DRC (ART), Mali (ARCEP), Burkina Faso (ARCEP), Sierra Leone (NATCOM), Cameroun (ART), and it’s in the process of getting more in the coming months.
By integrating operations, managed services and strategy, its pioneering methodology allows the set-up of a complete IT infrastructure to all entities based on the continent.
AFR-IX telecom has the most reliable and largest Metro Ethernet Pan African Network and offers a global coverage services in Africa. Thanks to its more than 50 POPs in Africa, Europe and America, AFR-IX provides reliable and resilient connectivity with countries connected by subsea and terrestrial cables.
Committed to deliver the best services, AFR-IX telecom integrates the forces that profile the future of the telecom industry and the surrounding societies.
