AU – SADC workshop: “Keep regional e–traffic regional”

Gaborone, Botswana – 3^rd February, 2014: The African Union Commission (AUC), through the Information Society Division of the Infrastructure and Energy Department, in partnership with the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) today launched a Regional Internet Exchange Point (RIXP) and Regional Internet Carrier (RIC) Workshop in Gaborone with the aim to foster stakeholder discussions on implementing policies that support the emergence and growth of RIXP and RIC in view to promote intra-Africa internet traffic to be exchanged within the continent.

“Keep regional e–traffic regional … Most of Africa’s Internet traffic is routed through exchange points outside Africa. The cost and the delay/latency implications of routing traffic through international exchange points outside the continent are heavy. Our answer is a straight forward one, we need to set up an effective national and regional interconnectivity, peering and Internet traffic exchange.” said Mr. Cecil Masiga, Director, Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS), Botswana.

As part of the African Internet Exchange System (AXIS) project of the AU, the five (5) day regional workshop is a strategic follow-up to the support that has already been provided by the project to establish national internet exchange points.

The project will facilitate Internet Exchange Points and Internet Service Providers in AU Member States to evolve and become Regional Internet Exchanges and Regional Internet Carriers and keep intra-Africa internet traffic within the continent which in turn will contribute to the reduction of cost and enhance quality of service of the Internet in Africa.

“The Renaissance and Transformation of Africa through ICT has already started and will continue steadily” said Mr. Moctar Yedaly, Head of Information Society Division of the AU in his opening remarks.

The workshop is attended by over 100 participants representing Ministries of ICT, Regulators and the Private sector  from the SADC Member States of Angola, Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Zambia.