14 April 2021

Global broadband connectivity provider AFR-IX telecom has signed a peering deal with Asteroid Mombasa IXP to boost its network in Africa.

This is the company’s fourth IXP in the continent, adding to Cape Town, Djibouti and Lagos.

Asteroid Mombasa IXP is a major gateway for submarine fibre optic cables and is on the verge of becoming one of the main hubs for Internet traffic in east Africa.

“Today, we have added Mombasa-based Asteroid IXP to our already growing peering community across the continent as part of our extensive resilient and robust African network coverage [...] we can provide a global ICT offering, focusing on the needs of our local and regional customers,” said Louis Carver, AFR-IX telecom’s chief commercial officer.

The deal comes against the backdrop of the growing demand for broadband connectivity across the continent. According to Swedish gear-maker Ericsson’s Mobility Report June 2020, new uses, driven by the Internet of Things, streaming video, online gaming and others, will contribute to a 28% increase in mobile data traffic in sub-Saharan Africa from 2019 to 2025.

AFR-IX telecom views the addition of Asteroid IXP - through which more than 15 east African telecom operators and Internet service providers share traffic - as a strategic move that will enable it to increase its connectivity offering.

In late 2020, presented the Barcelona Cable Landing Station (CLS), the first landing station for international submarine cables that will be located on the coast of Barcelona (Spain).

It will be the point of entry for high-capacity fibre-optic subsea cables arriving from Asia, Africa and the Mediterranean, providing the fastest connection between Europe and America.