According to Muhammed Rudman, IXPN’s CEO, the forum provides a valuable platform for collaboration, interaction, and sharing IXPN milestones with its members.

He emphasized the organization’s dedication to building a stronger internet exchange ecosystem and advancing Nigeria’s digital landscape through efficient interconnectivity, robust collaborations, and the seamless exchange of ideas.

“IXPN plays a pivotal role in ensuring fast, reliable, and secure internet exchange services for organizations across the country. Thus, this forum offers an important opportunity to engage with our valued customers, address challenges, celebrate our successes, and envision a brighter digital future for Nigeria,” said Rudman.”

Highlighting key milestones achieved in 2024, Rudman noted IXPN’s recognition as a MANRS-compliant Internet Exchange Point, demonstrating its commitment to secure and reliable Internet routing.

He also cited multiple link upgrades between key Points of Presence (PoPs), including Digital Realty (Medallion) to Equinix (MDXi), Rack Centre, and ADC, significantly increasing capacity.

Another key achievement was the deployment of Microsoft Connected Cache to reduce latency and optimize bandwidth utilization for Microsoft static content.

Looking ahead to 2025, IXPN ‘s planned projects and initiatives include establishing additional exchange points in other states, attracting more content providers to the country, setting up CDNs and caches in regional IXPN PoPs, offering VLAN services within Lagos and supporting remote peering, and upgrading core devices and main links.

IXPN’s core functions include keeping Nigerian internet traffic local, reducing costs associated with accessing local content, enhancing local connectivity, improving the overall internet experience, promoting local content creation, and serving as a centralized launch point for services.

As of today, the organization currently boasts 125 members, seven PoPs in Lagos (ICNL, Medallion, Rack Centre, MDXi, ADC, OADC & Cloud Exchange), and additional PoPs in six other cities: Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, Enugu, Delta, and Gombe.

IXPN also manages a peak aggregate traffic of 900 Gbps.

Ugwuanyi explained the importance of understanding Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) to appreciate the role that these infrastructures play in the tech space.

He stated: “Before we look at the role of IXPN to the ecosystem, I think it’s prudent for us to very briefly look at what an Internet Exchange Point is. Let’s imagine a region, say Lagos, and in this particular region, there’s just one service provider.”

This background, he explained, is essential for understanding the nuances of network communications.

The Function of IXPs in the DNS Industry

Still speaking at the Tech Convergence 1.0, Ugwuanyi delved into the technical details of how IXPs work, noting how they impact the efficiency of DNS operations.

The Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria, for example, connects over 128 networks, and its average traffic reaches over 800 Gbps. 

IXPN operates in all major data centres across Nigeria, including ICNL, Digital Realty, Rack Centre, MDXi, Cloud Exchange, ADC, and OADC. Added to this, IXPN has points of presence in Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Delta.

“The Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria, before we delve into the roles it plays, connects over 128 networks, with average traffic exceeding 800 Gbps. We are present in all of the major data centres in Lagos, including ICNL Digital, formerly medallion, Rack Centre, MDXI, Cloud Exchange, ADC, and OADC. We also have other points of presence in Abuja, Kano, Enugu, and Delta.”

Ugwuanyi explained the important role that IXPs play in reducing latency in network communications, which is essential for the efficient functioning of the DNS infrastructure. He illustrated this by comparing the latency between networks connected to IXPN and those that rely on submarine cables.

“For connection to IXPN, all these networks can reach each other at less than one millisecond. The average time to reach these DNS servers is less than one millisecond, as opposed to going through submarine cables, which takes no less than 90 to 100 milliseconds.”

This improvement in speed ascertains the effectiveness of IXPs in reducing latency, which is essential for faster, more reliable internet access, especially for DNS resolutions.

The Economic Benefits of IXPs

Ugwuanyi also emphasised the economic advantages of using IXPs. He explained that on average, most ISPs exchange 50-60% of their traffic at IXPN. This has a significant impact on cost savings for service providers.

“On average, most of the members exchange 50 to 60% of their traffic at IXPN. What this means is that 50-60% of a typical ISP’s traffic goes through the exchange point.”

He used Lagos as an example to highlight the difference in cost between using IXPN for local traffic versus using international transit. 

For instance, a one Gbps connection at IXPN costs around N200,000, while the cost for a similar connection using international transit is much higher, often around N1.2 million after negotiation. The cost difference is obvious, and it shows the economic benefits of localising traffic.

“If you look at the cost of a one Gbps transit, you’re looking at N1.2 million if you negotiate very well. The cost of the same one Mbps connection to IXPN is N200,000, which is a significant saving for providers.”

Outside Lagos, the cost of international transit increases drastically, which further stresses the economic advantage of using IXPs.

“One of our members in Ibadan told me that one Gbps transit connection costs almost N4 million there. So you can see how the reduction in cost of operation is quite significant.”

Enhancing Security and Compliance

Another key aspect of IXPs is their role in enhancing the security and compliance of internet traffic. By localising internet traffic, IXPs reduce the number of intermediaries involved in data transmission, thereby decreasing the exposure to potential attacks. Ugwuanyi explained:

“If the traffic is local, there are fewer players who can intercept and attack the traffic. It also reduces the exposure to attacks like Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), which is a significant threat when traffic passes through multiple providers and hubs.”

He also discussed how IXPs help with data localisation and compliance with regional regulations. In Nigeria, some laws prevent operators from storing user data outside the country, and IXPs help ensure compliance with such data localisation laws.

“Nigeria has some data localisation laws and policies. For example, operators are prevented from keeping their user data outside Nigeria. An IXP would facilitate and make it possible for players to comply with these regulations.”

Ugwuanyi stressed the importance of IXPs in the tech space, in terms of improving network performance and also reducing costs and enhancing security.

He noted that IXPs help in improving the efficiency, affordability, and security of internet services, making them an essential part of the technological infrastructure in Nigeria and beyond.

“The reduction in cost of operation and improved network performance provided by IXPs is precise. In Lagos, for example, the difference between using IXPN and international transit is very noticeable. The role of IXPs in improving connectivity and reducing costs is undeniable.”

The new Internet Exchange, AMS-IX Lagos, is situated in the carrier-neutral data center of MDXi, an Equinix Company. Under terms of the partnership, MDXi will serve as the commercial partner of AMS-IX and regional sales and marketing arm for AMS-IX Lagos. AMS-IX will run the technical and operational management of the exchange.

AMS-IX Lagos aims to become an important content hub for West Africa, enabling regional and local ISPs, carriers, and Internet Exchanges to aggregate content from large global Content Delivery Networks, hosting companies and application providers. In the coming months, MDXi, an Equinix Company and AMS-IX will focus on seeking alliances with local telecom operators and IX’s and supporting local ecosystems.

AMS-IX Lagos will launch with over 25 connected networks as AMS-IX and MDXi, an Equinix Company migrate and onboard the existing connected networks of West Africa Internet Exchange (WAF-IX) in the coming month. Connected networks at WAF-IX include large CDNs and application providers such as Cloudflare, Microsoft and Google.

Peter van Burgel, CEO of AMS-IX: “We intend to add value to the local carriers and IX’s by attracting even more content players to the region and support the local connectivity community. This is a very exciting project for us as we see it as an important steppingstone for bringing low-latency affordable Internet available for the West-African region.”  

Funke Opeke, Director MDXi, an Equinix company states “This partnership enables MDXi deliver value to the rich ecosystem of network operators, carriers, content providers, cloud services providers, and enterprises that we have present in the data center. The AMS-IX partnership will help MDXi consolidate its role as content hub not just for Nigeria, but for Francophone and English-speaking West and Central Africa.”

AMS-IX will be setting up an internet exchange at MDXi, the carrier-neutral Data Center of MainOne in Lagos Nigeria. MDXi will act as AMS-IX strategic partner and reseller for AMS-IX in West Africa.

This strategic partnership between AMS-IX and MDXi will deliver improved interconnection capabilities for existing and new customers on the exchange, further facilitating the distribution of content into the West African region.

With this partnership, content delivery networks, application providers, and hosting companies will now be able to exchange internet traffic locally through the rich interconnected ecosystem of networks, large enterprises, and cloud service providers, and network operators available at MDXi.

International Partnership Director Onno Bos of AMS-IX: “Lagos is the ideal location to serve as a content hub for West and Central Africa as it is strategically located in a fast-developing region with landing sites for international subsea cables connecting Africa to EMEA and beyond. We’re thrilled to work with such a strong partner as MainOne to expand this vibrant connectivity community.”

Oluwasayo Oshadami, GM, Technical Solutions, MainOne, “We’re excited to work with AMS-IX. AMS-IX has over 25 years of experience building, operating and growing Internet Exchanges all over the world. This partnership is an important step in realizing our long-term strategy to become a leading carrier-neutral digital infrastructure company by bringing a full range of transformative technologies to Africa.”

MDXi and AMS-IX are committed to developing Lagos into a regional content hub that services users all over West and Central Africa. The partners intend to seek alliances to connect with local telecom operators and IX’s to help develop and support local ecosystems.

Since inception, MainOne has invested over $400m in infrastructure in West Africa as part of its efforts to bridge the digital divide and enable the digital economy.

Today, MainOne is recognized as West Africa’s leading provider of Wholesale and Enterprise connectivity and data center services.

The company led by Ms Funke Opeke as the chief executive officer, has played a critical role in enabling internet access across West Africa where penetration rates have grown from less than 10% in 2010 to close to 40% ten years later.

In celebration of her 10th anniversary of delivering innovative, world-class service in West Africa, TechEconomy.ng presents ten (10) milestones of MainOne:

1. Launch of First Private Submarine Cable

2010 saw the official launch of MainOne, a 7000km submarine cable which runs from Seixal, Portugal through Accra, Ghana to Lagos, Nigeria with branching units in Morocco, Canary Islands, Senegal, and Ivory Coast.

MainOne became the first, African-owned company to lay International communications cable delivering open-access, broadband capacity in West Africa.

2. Launch of Metro Ethernet and Voice Services in Lagos and Accra

In 2012, MainOne secured ISP and Metro Fiber Licenses in Nigeria, deployed ASN 37282 IP/NGN network.

MainOne continued to grow metro fiber in Lagos, Accra and launched Metro Ethernet Services and Voice Services while deploying new Points of Presence (PoPs) in Abuja, Port Harcourt and Accra.

3. Birth of West Africa’s first Tier III Data Center, MDXi 

2015 saw the launch of the first, state of the art, Tier III Data Center in Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria.

This 600-rack space facility, touted by experts as the biggest, custom-built Tier III Data Center in West Africa, addressed the growing demand for in-country hosting facility. MDXi went on to achieve PCI DSS, ISO27001 and 9001 certifications and earned a Frost and Sullivan award for “Advanced Data Center Infrastructure in West Africa” the same year.

4. Launch of Cloud Services

In 2015, MainOne ventured into providing Cloud services to its enterprise customers, helping them reduce business overheads by eliminating hardware costs.

The flagship cloud offering, the MDXI Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS) solution, is fully hosted on enterprise-grade hardware within its tier III data centre in Lagos.

MainOne reseller programme was launched during a training programme in partnership with Edo State Government

MainOne has since grown to become preferred regional partner with the leading technology giants as Microsoft and AWS and in 2019 we won:

• Winner of the Africa Cloud Service Provider of the year, DataCloud Africa Awards, 2019
• Winner of the Excellence in Data Center Award: Africa, DataCloud Africa Awards, 2019

5. Cable extension to Cameroun

MainOne extended its submarine cable to Cameroun in 2015 with branching ports in Escravos, Delta State, Qua Iboe in Akwa Ibom State and Bonny Island in Rivers State.

This 1,100 km Nigerian Cameroun Cable System was built in partnership with Cameroun Telecommunications (CAMTEL) and delivered an additional 12.8Tbps capacity to Cameroun.

6. SME-IN-A-BOX product offerings

In 2016, MainOne launched a tailored solution for small businesses to achieve their digital transformation objectives.

This included a bundled solution of fibre connectivity, voice, cloud and productivity tools at very cost-effective packages to drive SMEs growth and productivity.

7. Compliance & Certifications

To ensure we exceed our customers’ requirements in line with international standards, MainOne is licensed and certified by various standards organizations including Tier III Constructed Facility certification (TCCF) from the Uptime Institute, ISO27001, ISO9001, PCI-DSS, SAP certifications.

8. Launch of WAF-IX

MainOne partnered with global IXP Platform provider, Asteroid, to launch a carrier- neutral, Internet Exchange Point for West Africa (WAF-IX) to improve accessibility, lower costs and reduced latency for Internet users in West Africa.

9. Strategic Partnerships

In 2019 MainOne had strategic partnership with major global companies such as Facebook on open access fiber network in Nigeria with metro fiber build in Edo and Ogun States of Nigeria; Avanti Communications to deliver satellite services to enterprises in remote locations in Nigeria; and Zenlayer to expand connectivity between international companies and West Africa

10. Hello Cote D’Ivoire and Senegal!

2019 also witnessed the historical landing of MainOne Cable in Grand-Bassam, Cote D’Ivoire and Dakar; the construction of another Tier III Data Center as well as the official launch of service in Cote D’Ivoire.

Reflecting on 10 years in business, the Chief Executive Officer of MainOne, Ms. Funke Opeke, said:

“We started on this journey to deploy critical infrastructure to bridge the digital divide in West Africa. While we are pleased that we have made an impact, there is so much more work to be done. The recent challenges we have faced with COVID-19 Pandemic highlight the need for additional investment and smarter policies to deploy shared infrastructure required to make access to broadband a reality for more Africans at a price they can afford. MainOne has been leading that charge across West Africa for ten years and we are even more committed to realizing our vision today than we were 10 years ago”.

Happy 10th Anniversary to MainOne!