Tanzania: City Launches Own Local Internet Exchange Point

Arusha has just become the first non-capital urban center in East and Central Africa to have its own Internet Exchange Point, 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.

Under this new Digital Data arrangement, the local web surfers will be able to by-pass international and interconnect directly, via exchange other than through one or more third party traffic controllers, that are usually the networks based in the western countries.

One of the AIXP coordinators, Erick Rowberg, stated that it was high time that Tanzania became independent of foreign data controllers, adding that most African countries have for many years been reduced into mere satellites for the global Internet networks.

"With such dependency it was difficult for our countries' locally based ISP to be more creative, more flexible or even able to post their own ideas and better designed pages."

Rowberg added that, by connecting to each other directly locally, Arusha ISP will enjoy faster loading time, cheaper prices and of course better security for their customers.

Paul Ngwillah, a Civil Engineer from the Arusha regional Secretariat graced the AIXP launching occasion on behalf of the Regional Commissioner, Col. Samuel A. Ndomba.

The Arusha Internet Exchange Point (AIXP) connects directly to its National counterpart, the Dar-es-salaam based Tanzania Internet Exchange Point (TIXP), which was the first local Internet Traffic center to be established in the country.

Arusha thus becomes the second, but very soon similar Internet Points will be introduced in, Mwanza City, then Dodoma Municipality.

AIXP equipment at which all local servers can easily connect to, has been installed at the Arusha International Conference Center, the only place, according to the stakeholders, with uninterrupted electric power supply.

Earlier on Prof. John Mkoma from the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA), said Internet based communication was fast becoming an important wheel in the country's economic and social development and hailed the new AIXP launched while also encouraging more efforts of this kind toward other regions and rural parts of the country as well.

"There is still ample market when it comes to Internet providing services," he assured, pointing out that, when the mobile Internet servers such as Celtel, Vodacom, tiGO and TTCL joined the digital communication bandwagon, by providing wireless Internet services through WAP-GPRS, CDMA 2.5G-EDGE and 3G-HSDPA, the traditional computer based operators were aghast, fearing that the mobile web browsers would steal their market.

"But as we have seen, there is enough room for the two types of Internet operators as more and more people keep resorting to the web as a better alternative to the analogue forms of communications," he stated.

The Arusha Internet Exchange Point, will now be a local platform connecting the Northern Zone's Internet Service Providers such as Benson Online (BOL), a subsidiary of Bensons informatics, Milan Cable TV and Internet Service, Cyber-net broadband, Nexus-Digital and Arusha Node Marie (Habari) which is powered by the local digital communications powerhouse, Afam-Limited.

The article can be found here: http://allafrica.com/stories/200708120056.html