(Tech) African Union(AU) Selects the Internet Society to Support Establishment of Internet Exchange Points across Africa

(Afrispa involvement seems long gone ...?)

African Union(AU) Selects the Internet Society to Support Establishment of
Internet Exchange Points across Africa
http://www.internetsociety.org/news/african-unionau-selects-internet-society-support-establishment-internet-exchange-points-across

Project includes 60 capacity building workshops in 30 countries

[Johannesburg, South Africa --23 August 2012] – The Internet Society today
announced that it has been selected by the African Union (AU) to conduct
community mobilization and technical aspects workshops to support the
establishment of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) in AU Member States as part
of the African Internet Exchange System (AXIS) project.  The AXIS project
aims at keeping Africa’s Internet traffic local to the continent by
providing capacity building and technical assistance to facilitate the
establishment of National Internet Exchange Points and Regional Internet
Exchange Points in Africa. The project is funded by the Euro-Africa
Infrastructure Fund and the Government of Luxembourg.

The Internet Society is committed to organizing 60 community mobilization
and technical aspects workshops in 30 African countries.  To this effect,
the Internet Society will also contribute its own resources for the
implementation of this component of the AXIS project.

Currently, much of Africa’s Internet traffic is routed through Internet
exchange points external to the African continent.  As countries establish
their own IXPs, Internet traffic will be routed locally, creating a downward
pressure on costs and stimulating growth in and distribution of local
Internet content.  Through the AXIS project, the interests of the AU and the
Internet  Society, working with other African Internet organizations such as
AfriNIC, AfNOG and AftLD, will be realized in this collaborative effort to
assist in the development of a more locally operated and, hence, more robust
and economically accessible pan-African Internet.

Moctar Yedaly, Head of Information Society Division, African Union
Commission, commented, “Africa is paying overseas carriers to exchange
‘local’ (continental) traffic. This is both a costly as well as an
inefficient way of handling inter-country exchange of Internet traffic.
Independent analysis has shown that Africa pays over US$600 Million to
developed countries every year for inter-African traffic exchange that is
carried outside the continent. We are therefore pleased that the African
Internet Exchange System project will address this challenge by facilitating
optimization of Internet traffic to support intra-continental traffic flows
in Africa.”

Dawit Bekele, Internet Society Regional Bureau Director for Africa, stated,
“We are very excited to be selected by the African Union to support the
growth of IXPs throughout Africa.  We believe the AXIS project is extremely
important to the continued health of the Internet ecosystem in Africa, and
building the technical infrastructure and training the people to sustain it
are fundamental to extending the Internet in Africa. Partnering with the
African Union on the AXIS project is central to the Internet Society’s
mission to ensure the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet
for the benefit of people everywhere.”

The Internet Society has provided technical training in Africa since the
early 1990s, and supports the development of human and technical capacity to
build reliable and sustainable Internet infrastructure in Africa and around
the world.  The organization’s African Bureau was started in 2006. With 24
Chapters, the Internet Society African Bureau works to promote capacity
building and the responsible development of the Internet throughout Africa.
 Its principle focus is improving interconnection and traffic exchange
within the continent through the implementation of IXPs, network training,
and capacity building.

About the Internet Society
The Internet Society is the trusted independent source for Internet
information and thought leadership from around the world. With its
principled vision and substantial technological foundation, the Internet
Society promotes open dialogue on Internet policy, technology, and future
development among users, companies, governments, and other organizations.
Working with its members and Chapters around the world, the Internet Society
enables the continued evolution and growth of the Internet for everyone. For
more information, visit www.internetsociety.org.

About the African Union
The African Union has 54 Member States. The vision of the African Union is a
peaceful, integrated, prosperous Africa, driven by its own citizens to take
up its rightful place in the global community. For more information, visit
www.au.int

Media Contact:
Wende Cover, [email protected], +1-703-439-2773

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