NEWS
Internet
Society
partners with
Facebook
to expand
African
connectivity
Ruckus Networks
collaborates with VAST
to simplify Wi-Fi roaming
T
he Internet Society, a global non-profit
organisation dedicated to the open
development, evolution and use of the
Internet, has announced that it is partnering
with Facebook to develop Internet Exchange
Points (IXP) throughout Africa.
An Internet Exchange Point is where multiple
local and international networks, ISPs
and content providers interconnect their
networks together to efficiently exchange
Internet traffic through an arrangement
commonly referred to as Peering.
Currently, 42% of countries in Africa lack
IXPs, which means that most of their
domestic Internet traffic is exchanged
through points outside their respective
country, usually through satellite or
submarine fibre across multiple international
hubs to reach their destination.
This can result in poor end-user
experiences and discourages hosting
content locally, which are some of the key
factors towards the development of the
local Internet ecosystem.
Peering at IXPs helps keep domestic Internet
traffic local by offloading traffic from
relatively expensive international links on to
more affordable local links.
“The Internet community adopted the goal
of having at least 80% of the Internet
traffic consumed in Africa being locally
accessible, and only 20% sourced outside
the continent by the year 2020,” said Dawit
Bekele, Africa Regional Bureau Director for
the Internet Society.
“We are getting closer to that target
thanks to the many activities that promote
interconnection and hosting in Africa and
to partnerships such as the one we are
announcing with Facebook.”
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R
uckus Networks, an ARRIS company,
has been named a preferred provider
for VAST Networks in South Africa,
the largest public Wi-Fi provider on
the continent, to roll out Hotspot 2.0
technology that simplifies Wi-Fi roaming
for customers.
“Most people do not even think twice
when it comes to roaming on their mobile
devices when they travel, but given the
pressure of tighter budgets, roaming
costs are a growing concern,” said
Riaan Graham, Sales Director for Ruckus
Networks, Sub-Saharan Africa.
“Most wireless users prefer to connect to
a hotspot whenever they can as a way of
keeping those expenses to a minimum.
The challenge is finding and selecting
the right network, logging on through a
portal, and repeating the process every
time a new hotspot is accessed. Ruckus
has worked continent-wide providing
solutions for virtually any scenario or
customer requirement.
“The collaboration with VAST combines
our extensive experience to offer a
truly innovative solution to overcome
a challenge with which many mobile
operators and consumers struggle.”
Khetan Gajjar, Chief Technical
Officer at VAST Networks, added that
it was imperative to identify a company
that shared its passion for connecting
people in a digital environment.
“With Ruckus Networks, we’re able to
continuously explore different methods
of authenticating and onboarding users
to our network with incremental effort,”
he said. n
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