Politics and policy
President Uhuru Kenyatta with Rwanda President Paul Kagame during the
East Africa Business Summit in Kigali, Rwanda. PHOTO | NATION MEDIA
GROUP
By OKUTTAH MARK
In Summary
- Currently, Internet traffic within the region (and the rest of Africa) is routed via Europe, keeping the cost of networking high for local internet service providers who in turn pass costs down to users.
Twelve eastern Africa states plan to create a
regional Internet exchange point to cut the cost of data and increase
speed of electronic mail. The regional exchange will allow states like
Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Djibouti, Uganda, the Comoros, Somali and
Tanzania to share information directly without passing it through Europe
and the US.
Currently, Internet traffic within the region (and the rest
of Africa) is routed via Europe, keeping the cost of networking high for
local internet service providers who in turn pass costs down to users.
Joseph Tiampati, the Information ministry
Principle Secretary, said that creation of a regional Internet exchange
would end the current state where traffic between member countries has
to be rerouted to Europe and the US.
“The proposed regional Internet exchange will be a
simple means of achieving interconnection among East African countries
and equally aid in keeping regional traffic local instead of using
international links,” Mr Tiampati said yesterday during the opening
session of a five-day meeting on Eastern Africa interconnection policy
and regulation.
“This will facilitate the achievement of cost
effective means of doing business and improve technical quality of
systems by reducing latency,” he said.
The meeting comes nearly six months after the
African Union Commission recommended the development of a regional
policy framework to facilitate interconnection.
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