[af-ix-discuss] Renseignements, Interconnexion de deux POP

[mwangi at isoc.org (Michuki Mwangi)]

Hi Arnold,


> On Jan 11, 2018, at 11:18 AM, Arnold Nipper <arnold.nipper at de-cix.net> wrote:
> 
> [ Trying to cut the thread a bit ]
> 
> 

Likewise :)

>> b) connecting 2 IXPs of different organisations:
>> same problems, plus: the intentions and incentives of the 2
>> organisations might not always stay aligned as much as they are (or
>> seem) right now.
>> 
> 
> You may have read that BCIX [2] and DE-CIX just announced a partnership
> [3] where both IXP are interconnected physically but still are separate
> on an IXP level. Imho this makes perfectly sense.
> 
> The interconnection industry is changing rapidly. Customer demand - both
> from a technical pov as well from a commercial - is driving this
> changes. We have to be aware of it and find solutions.
> 

Thanks for sharing, this is quite interesting developments and we would be happy to learn more on the business models in use. For instance assuming that each IXP has a different business model and charges, how does this work ?. Who pays for the link between the two IXPs, how do you guarantee the capacity each member gets across the two points, etc, etc.

Having said that, it is worth noting that most of the IXP interconnections we have seen have mostly been in Europe, where the interconnection market is quite advanced. If anything, the European market is actually driving the interconnection evolution in both the technical and commercial models. In comparison and as mentioned earlier by Frank, the African interconnection scene is still playing catchup. For instance, it is often a struggle to get 1Gbps, let alone 10Gbps, intra-city capacity in many countries. When available, the pricing is often bordering on ridiculous. In fact, transit if often cheaper than intra-city transport for majority of the countries in the region. This means that the practical business and sustainability case of interconnecting IXPs be it in the same city, between cities or cross-border is non-existent in almost all cases.

If we had the environment similar to that of many countries in Europe, there would be a certain interconnection potential to consider. Unfortunately, the current environment in Africa would not support the case in both short and long term basis.

Just my 2 cents,

Michuki.






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