An Internet exchange service for Arusha

The Regional Commissioner for Arusha, Col. Samuel A. Ndomba officiated the launch of the Arusha Internet Exchange Point (AIXP). In attendance were Information and Communication Technology (ICT) practitioners and ICT journalists.

A Tanzanian based IT consultant Nixon T Nyamachumbe says the launch of the IXP is a great move for Tanzania's ICT Industry.

In a telephone interview with the Highway Africa News Agency, Nyamachumbe said that Tanzania has a fast growing ICT industry in the sub-Saharan Africa region and there was a dire need for other African countries to contribute to the development of the ICT sector on the continent.

"You know now Tanzania has a fast growing ICT sector, other African countries should follow suit and contribute to the development of ICT in Africa, I think the launch of the IX is a good move," Nyamachume said.

An Internet Exchange Point (IX or IXP) is a physical infrastructure that allows different Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to connect to each other and exchange local traffic between their networks by means of mutual peering agreements, which allow traffic to be exchanged at much faster speeds and reduces the cost of International routing.

The primary purpose of an IXP is to allow networks to interconnect directly, via the exchange, rather than through one or more 3rd party networks that are usually in the west. It basically enables a customer of ISP 'A' to access a website that is hosted at ISP 'B' via a local exchange, rather than using the up-link satellite networks of ISP 'A' and ISP 'B'. This drastically reduces latency (increases speed) which in turn allows the user to get a higher quality of service and reduces unnecessary cost of international bandwidth by both ISPs.

The direct interconnection, often located in the same city, avoids data or Internet traffic from having to travel to other cities, and in some cases to other continents to get from one network to another, thus reducing latency. An IX would also provide opportunities for local hosting of websites and encourage content development. This is because websites can download at much faster speeds when hosted and accessed locally.

Beginning in September 2005, ISPs in Arusha began discussing on how to start an IXP in the area. There was a flurry of activity in June 2006 resulting in a decision to borrow equipment and try to run an IX. At the same time TISPA and TCRA began discussions for funding IXPs in Arusha and Mwanza.

On 27 June 2006 five technicians from ISPs got together at AICC and with borrowed router, switch and UPS tried to peer. They managed to peer two ISPs and within a week had 4 ISPs peering. The switch was an inexpensive soho switch and it started to freeze after 3 weeks. The loaned router was needed back by Arusha Node and sometime in August the IX then stopped. Arusha ISPs then began working with TISPA on a proposal to TCRA for the necessary equipment.

To date the amount of traffic exchanged locally has grown tremendously and it is a valuable service for ISP. At present, the ISPs pay a yearly peering fee of $250 for members and $500 for non-members. This has enabled the AIXP to become 100% self-sufficient.

ISPs in Tanzania would pay between 10 or 100 times more for data transport than ISPs in North America, Europe or Japan. Therefore, these ISPs typically have slower, more limited connections to the rest of the Internet. However, a connection to a local IXP may allow them faster data transfer rate, with higher capacity and lower costs, vastly improving the customers experience of adjacent ISPs.

To date, AIXP has six ISPs and other organisations connected and exchanging data including BensonOnline, Arusha Node Marie, Nexus Digital, Cybernet, Milan Cable Network, and Datel is soon to connect.

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