Hosted by the Nigerian Network Operator Group (ngNOG) and the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), the forum attracted government officials, industry leaders, and technology experts committed to enhancing digital connectivity in Nigeria.

In his opening remarks, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, emphasized the critical role of internet connectivity in driving Nigeria’s economic growth and development.

Represented by Ganiyu Oseni, senior adviser on Technology, Broadband & Innovation, Governor Sanwo-Olu reiterated the Lagos State Government’s commitment to fostering digital inclusion and expanding infrastructure.

“Digital connectivity is not just a tool for communication; it is a catalyst for economic transformation,” Oseni said on behalf of the Governor. “We are committed to supporting initiatives like ngPIF that push the boundaries of digital infrastructure and bring the benefits of connectivity to all Nigerians.”

The two-day forum featured a series of panel discussions and workshops, with participants focusing on key topics such as peering, interconnection, data centers, and the role of government in creating a conducive environment for digital innovation.

Prof. Wale Adedokun, National Coordinator of ngPIF, underscored the forum’s mission to bridge Nigeria’s digital divide, particularly between urban and rural areas. “The essence of ngPIF is to foster collaboration among stakeholders to ensure internet resources are more accessible and affordable across Nigeria,” he told journalists.

Muhammed Rudman, CEO of IXPN, echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the importance of rural connectivity to ensure that all citizens can access the digital economy. “The government’s support is crucial for expanding internet access in underserved areas, particularly through mechanisms like the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF),” Rudman explained.

In addition, Ayotunde Coker, CEO of Open Access Data Centre (OADC), highlighted ngPIF’s role in building a robust peering community that includes infrastructure providers, content creators, service providers, and policymakers.

“This forum has evolved into a vibrant community dedicated to advancing Nigeria’s interconnection and peering infrastructure, putting the country on the global digital map,” Coker remarked.

As Nigeria continues its digital transformation, ngPIF remains a vital platform for stakeholders to collaborate, innovate, and shape the future of the country’s internet landscape.

The session featured insights from Funke Opeke, the Managing Director of MainOne; Johnson Agogbua, CEO of Kasi Cloud Datacenters; Josephine Sarouk, MD of Bayobab Nigeria; and Darren Bedford, Group Chief Development Officer, WIOCC, represented by Nikki Popoola, Sales Director at WIOCC.

Dewole Ajao, Global Network Acquisition expert from Google, skillfully moderated the conversation, extracting valuable insights from each ngPIF panelists.

Johnson Agogbua, CEO of Kasi Cloud Datacenters, opened the dialogue, shedding light on the intricate landscape of digital infrastructure in Nigeria. He eloquently emphasized, “Nigeria is a difficult but immensely rewarding market… punching above its weight, with almost 30% of internet traffic in Africa.” Agogbua pinpointed the challenges, including power supply and economic policies, stressing the need for streamlined processes. 

He noted, “Digital infrastructure costs money,” highlighting the importance of stable economic policies for investors.

Funke Opeke, the Managing Director of MainOne, provided valuable insights into the regulatory hurdles faced in Nigeria compared to smaller markets. 

She remarked, “Dealing with government for permits, licenses, and regulations has its challenges.” 

Opeke passionately advocated for a unified digital network, envisioning, “a robust shared digital network fibre that cuts across every local government, every community, across the country.” 

Her vision highlighted open access, shared costs, and shared operations, emphasizing inclusivity and comprehensive connectivity.

Josephine Sarouk, the MD of Bayobab Nigeria, highlighted the keyrole of partnerships between the private sector and the government. She stated, “We can’t do it without partnerships,” emphasizing the need for collaboration. Sarouk stressed uniformity in rights of way, advocating for consistent policies across states. Her fervent plea was to transform digital infrastructure into government assets, ensuring protection against vandalism and bolstering the security of vital fibre routes.

Nikki Popoola, the Sales Director at WIOCC, echoed the sentiments of partnership and accessibility. She emphasized the importance of affordable internet services, asserting, “It needs to be cost-effective… if it’s not affordable, what’s the point?” Popoola shared her dream, aiming to replicate South Africa’s success in Nigeria. Her vision encompassed collaboration and standardized infrastructure development, creating an inclusive digital landscape.

The panel discussion illuminated the challenges and aspirations within Nigeria’s digital infrastructure sphere. Each ngPIF panelists emphasized the urgency and determination in the sector. 

Their shared vision revolved around streamlined regulations, standardized processes, and collaborative efforts between public and private sectors. Their collective mission? 

To transform Nigeria into a digitally connected powerhouse, where opportunities are boundless and inclusivity is paramount.

The Nigerian Peering and Interconnection Forum is a yearly networking event where decision-makers from infrastructure providers, content providers, service providers, and policy-makers engage, share experiences and learn from experts in their field.

The discussions at this year’s edition will centre on enhancing peering and interconnection for the development of the internet in Nigeria, improving peering and interconnection and the growth of digital services.

Speaking on the support of AF-CIX for the Forum, the Project Coordinator, AF-CIX, Obinna Adumike, said;

“We are excited to support the 2023 ngPIF. We believe that peering and interconnection are essential for the development of the African internet landscape, and are committed to supporting initiatives that promote the growth of peering and interconnection that will enhance the reliability, performance and affordability of internet in the country.”

According to Adumike, “With AF-CIX, Nigerian networks would have access to a technologically advanced interconnect platform that guarantees reliability, content localization and measurable reduced cost to business. The platform cloud interconnect capabilities would allow all businesses especially enterprise business to achieve local access to various cloud service thereby eliminating the issues of accessing the cloud through the open internet. AF-CIX offers free 1G and 10G ports and cross connection for the peering and local exchange services. This is to fulfill its promise of delivering cost effective value to Participants on the exchange.

AF-CIX will be hosting a special training on Routing Security (MANRS) for network engineers and peering coordinators on the 23rd of October at the 2023 ngNOG just before the Nigerian Peering and Interconnection Forum (ngPIF) kicks off.

AF-CIX, hosted in Rack Centre- as part of innovations to support the growth of the internet in Africa through effective and functional traffic localization, enterprise digitization acceleration, and community support, among other reasons- is specifically designed to complement the role of Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria by providing a redundant path for local traffic exchange and a robust Interconnect Exchange.

Conversations at the 2-day event which saw an attendance pool of over 400 infrastructure providers, connectivity stakeholders, content providers, and policymakers revolved around interconnectivity, peer-to-peer content sharing, local content availability, peering possibilities in underserved regions, cloud connectivity, human capacity building, education, and technology intersection.

In his opening address at the annual event, hosted by the Nigerian Network Operators Group (ngNOG), and the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-olu noted that this year’s ngPIF is very relevant and of national significance.

“Today, I am pleased to be among experts in the Infrastructure, Digital Content Provision, Network Services and Policymaking, as they engage, share experiences, and learn from experts in their fields,” said the Governor, who was represented by Mr. Hakeem Fahm, Commissioner for Science and Technology.

 According to him, no one can ignore the vital role of technology in improving our infrastructural facilities and enhancing economic growth and development. “The forum has focused efforts on strengthening cooperation and communication with all stakeholders in the utility infrastructure sector, particularly considering the huge challenge currently faced by the industry and the world. For inclusive growth, a gathering like this is needed periodically to brainstorm, exchange ideas, and be in tune with the latest developments as it affects the infrastructure providers, content providers, service providers, and policymakers,” he added.

Also speaking, the National Event Coordinator of Nigerian Network Operators Group (NgNOG), Prof. Adewale Adedokun, explained that the relevance of peering and interconnectivity have quadrupled in recent times.

“While infrastructure providers are navigating the intricacies of protocol such as Ipv4 to Ipv6, and building cloud-based data centers to satisfy billions of consumers globally on the internet, platforms like ngPIF provides the elasticity for continuous reinforcement through knowledge and ideas sharing among stakeholders,” he said “Several high value business to business deals have been consummated at NgPIF for the benefit of the Nigerian internet ecosystem, and this is only the start.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Muhammed Rudman, Chief Executive Officer of IXPN made a case that there is a need to be deliberate about underserved areas when it comes to Internet connectivity. “When we speak of growing internet access, pillars such as Fiber infrastructure, data centres, service providers, IXPs and their demand are fundamental,” he said.

He noted that for IXP itself, we require location, equipment, technical and administrative capacities to function at the optimum, emphasizing that in less reached areas, peculiar challenges such as low connectivity infrastructure, security issues, diminished interest in internet services, and absence of carrier-neutral data centres are often the bane.

“Our successes in major cities in Nigeria have been an infusion of the fundamental pillars, such that even when extending to less urban regions, it’s important that we, the service providers do not diminish these pillars. Only then can we truly attain the efficiency that we seek through interconnectivity,” he explained further.

There was a high-level panel discussion at ngPIF 2022, during which experts agreed that as interconnectivity deepens and the demand for digital content soars, it is imperative for stakeholders to become more deliberate about collaborating by peering with infrastructure providers for ease of interconnectivity, cloud-based data centres integration and digital content access to consumers.

It is also noteworthy to mention that several high value business to business deals were consummated at NgPIF 2022 for the benefit of the Nigerian internet ecosystem.

According to the experts who attended physically from Belgium, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, France, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom and Nigeria, at the intersection of connectivity, content provision, internet services, and policies, liaison of stakeholders is imminent to foster the rapid development and efficiency of connectivity across all economic levels.

Top-tier companies and stakeholders within the connectivity industry also joined the conversation at ngPIF 2022. They include; Meta, Africa Data Center, Amazon AWS, FlexOptix, Open Access Data Centers, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Internet Society, Kasi Data Centers, Rack Center, Nigerian Communications Commission, Team Cymru, AfriNIC, Medallion, Access & Content Limited.

The NgPIF 2022 will bring together Telecom Operators, Internet Service Providers, Content Providers, Data Center Operators, Educational Institutions, Policy-Makers, Investors and all other Internet-related organizations to network, collaborate and share experiences in an effort to enhance Nigeria’s internet ecosystem.

These interactions, according to the organisers will facilitate the exchange of information and insights regarding the economics and benefits of network interconnection, peering and local hosting/Internet traffic.  

According to a statement announcing the forum, which was issued and signed by Mr. Muhammed Rudman, Chief Executive Officer of IXPN, the 2-day forum will be held at the Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria, from 25th – 26th of October 2022, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily.

The statement added that the forum would run in a hybrid mode (both online and in-person) to attract more participants.

The forum aims to promote national and cross-border interconnection and increase local Internet content.

“The forum will provide participants with the opportunity to meet one-on-one with any of the other participants through dedicated Peering Bilateral meeting sessions, with the goal of facilitating direct communications between network operators and content providers. Other interactive meetings will be facilitated through social activities in person and via an online portal,” it reads. 

Meanwhile, speaking on behalf of the Nigerian Network Operators Group (NgNOG), Dr. Adewale Adedokun highlighted other features of the forum including 2 days of in-depth sessions covering critical issues in the Internet ecosystem through technical presentations and talks from a select group of industry experts. Up to 300 participants from within and beyond Nigeria are expected to converge in Lagos for the event.

“There will also be an IPV6 and RPKI Deployment Hackathon hosted by AFRINIC – the Regional Internet Registry, where resource members’ teams are guided on IPV6 deployment. This also provides the opportunity to meet with AFRINIC staff on-site for assistance with acquiring numbering resources and resolution of technical challenges,” he stated.

These activities, according to him, will together facilitate quality engagement to foster collaboration for the advancement of broadband internet, localised content and the associated development in Nigeria. 

Participants are expected to register here.