It is envisioned that the IXP will serve as a catalyst for innovation and development of Internet services and applications in Swaziland.
Implementation
The Internet Exchange Point will support Government efforts towards the implementation of E-government services, and lower the cost of developing local hosting and application development.
The presence of the IXP will improve local Internet resilience by eliminating the dependence on international connectivity for local Internet services and Internet-based communications.
Growing
“I am delighted to note that the exchange point seeks to keep locally generated content within the country. This resonates well with government’s motto of the BUY SWAZI campaign. This then should and must translate to the other areas of the internet, that is, it must be generated locally and be kept locally.
“By this, I mean, the creation of websites, the hosting of websites, the design and creation of adverts – if we do all these, we will be growing our own ICT industry,” said Ndlangamandla, minister of information communications and technology during the launching ceremony of the first Internet Exchange Point in Swaziland.
The Head of Information Society Division of the AUC, Moctar Yedaly, added that “the African Union initiated the African Internet Exchange System project to promote the keeping of intra-Africa’s internet traffic within the continent by supporting the establishment of National Internet Exchange Points and Regional Internet Exchange Points in Africa…therefore, it is a pleasure that the collaboration between the ministry of information and communications technology has culminated to this milestone to launch the Internet Exchange Point in Swaziland”.
In his remarks at the IXP launch, Mwangi, Senior Regional Development Manager for Africa the Internet Society, noted; “The Internet Society is pleased by this major accomplishment which has been achieved in a truly multi-stakeholder fashion.
Accomplishment
“The establishment of the Swaziland exchange point marks yet another milestone towards achieving the national and regional interconnection goal for Africa by 2020.
“We look forward to continue supporting the Internet community in Swaziland in the days ahead, to grow the traffic exchanged at the IXP, for the mutual benefit of the people of Swaziland and the region as a whole”.
“For Swaziland, this is the first major step towards realising the goal of 80 percent local and 20 percent international Internet traffic by the year 2020. On behalf of the local stakeholders, we are grateful for the support that we have received from the Ministry of ICT, African Union, Internet Society and its partners.
The support has been pivotal to the success realised thus far,” said Ralph Nkambule, Chairperson IXP Committee of Swaziland.
Higher
The ISPs connected RealNet, Posix Swaziland and Swaziland Post & Telecommunications Corporation (SPTC). The IXP was established with the support of the African Internet Exchange System (AXIS), a project of the African Union implemented by the Internet Society.
AXIS organised an IXP best practices workshop in Mbabane from 4-5 February 2013 where higher officials from the Ministry of ICT as well as more than 35 experts participated, followed by a hands-on technical training to 20 specialists, from 30 September- 04 October, 2013.
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Quelle/Source: The Swazi Observer, 12.04.2014
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