As Cloud and Content transform our industry, we are focused on keeping things simple. The growth in Cloud-based services and digital media is accelerating the need for access to global peering capabilities.
Imagine the internet as an interconnection of many networks and peering is the exchange of internet traffic. Network operators, content providers and enterprises that demand more resilient and low latency network performance can benefit from peering at Internet Exchanges (IXs). To make things simpler, remote peering allows users to deliver an optimised end-user experience without being physically present at the IXs.
In regions like North America and Europe, we are seeing a large number of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) to facilitate peering. The United States alone grew the number of IXPs by 36% to 90 IXPs over the past year while emerging regions like Africa is currently underserved with IXPs. Today, there are around 44 active IXPs located across 32 countries in Africa.
Currently, 42% of countries in Africa lack IXPs which can hinder the ability to peer with leading content providers and Service Providers that are generally present on well-established exchanges in Europe, US or Asia-Pacific. Not establishing these connections can result in a second-rate user experience when accessing apps and media content. Service Providers in these markets need to ensure Quality of Experience (QoE), and one of the easiest ways to do that is to peer at IXs.
The good news is, with remote peering, they do not need to build infrastructure and maintain a presence at IXs. Remote peering removes the barrier to connecting to IXs around the world, which in itself can be a more cost-effective solution for localised or regional network operators.
