AMS-IX, one of the largest Internet Exchange operators in the world, and MDXi , an Equinix company, announced that they have launched a new Internet Exchange in Lagos, Nigeria. Both companies had signed a memorandum of understanding to set up this exchange last year.
An Internet exchange (IX or IXP) is a physical location where multiple Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and other network operators can interconnect their networks and exchange Internet traffic between their users without going through a third-party network or paying for expensive transit costs.
It provides a common platform for ISPs and other network operators to connect their networks and exchange traffic with each other. By connecting to an IX, ISPs and network operators can reduce the amount of Internet traffic that must be carried through expensive transit providers, resulting in reduced latency and improved performance for their users. In addition, an IX can also provide increased network redundancy, improved reliability, and greater control over network traffic flows.
AMS-IX Lagos aims to become an important content hub for West Africa, enabling regional and local ISPs, carriers, and Internet Exchanges to aggregate content from large global Content Delivery Networks, hosting companies and application providers. In the coming months, MDXi, an Equinix Company and AMS-IX will focus on seeking alliances with local telecom operators and IX’s and supporting local ecosystems.
AMS-IX Lagos will launch with over 25 connected networks as AMS-IX and MDXi, an Equinix Company migrate and onboard the existing connected networks of West Africa Internet Exchange (WAF-IX) in the coming month. Connected networks at WAF-IX include large CDNs and application providers such as Cloudflare, Microsoft and Google.
Peter van Burgel, CEO of AMS-IX: “We intend to add value to the local carriers and IX’s by attracting even more content players to the region and support the local connectivity community. This is a very exciting project for us as we see it as an important steppingstone for bringing low-latency affordable Internet available for the West-African region.”
According to Funke Opeke, Director MDXi, an Equinix company, “this partnership enables MDXi deliver value to the rich ecosystem of network operators, carriers, content providers, cloud services providers, and enterprises that we have present in the data center. The AMS-IX partnership will help MDXi consolidate its role as content hub not just for Nigeria, but for Francophone and English-speaking West and Central Africa.”
