The London Internet Exchange (LINX) targets east and west Africa where more subsea cables are landing
The London Internet Exchange (LINX) said it will be expanding its interconnection footprint in Africa with LINX Accra, a new Internet Exchange Point (IXP) for Ghana. LINX Accra will be a neutral, multi-site interconnection fabric providing peering services and more for networks to improve performance, keep local traffic local and lower network latency.
The move follows LINX’s announcement that it will be expanding its interconnection service provision in Kenya as it welcomes LINX Mombasa to its global network map. One year on from the launch of its first Internet Exchange Point (IXP) on the continent, LINX Nairobi, the global interconnection service provider will be extending not only its Kenyan footprint but also its partnership with local data centre operator iColo: A Digital Realty Company.
In September, LINX announced it will be extending its African interconnection platform to PAIX Data Centres in Nairobi, following demand from the local networking community. Recently, Systel, a telecommunications and network services provider in Kenya, became the first provider to enable the Microsoft Azure Peering Service (MAPS) at LINX Nairobi.
Ghana gateway
Set to go live in early Q1 of 2025, the new IXP will follow the LINX design of a resilient, interconnected, multi-site fabric to grow with the predicted demand for the region. Ghana has six subsea cable systems making it one of the most internationally connected countries in Africa. LINX Accra will initially launch from Onix and PAIX data centres as part of phase one. This setup will provide redundancy and interconnectivity, allowing networks at either location to meet at LINX Accra via a single cross-connect to access peering services and more.
“The LINX Accra IXP will bring robust, distributed interconnection services across several data centres in Accra,” said LINX head of global engagement Nurani Nimpuno (above). “LINX Accra will not only support the growth of the strong local ISP community, but with several key internet submarine cables landing in Accra, it is uniquely positioned to become a central gateway for Internet traffic in West Africa.”
Mombasa calling
Mombasa is also home to several major submarine internet cables, including 2Africa, SEACOM, TEAMS (The East African Marine System), and EASSy (Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System). Mombasa not only serves Kenya but also provides critical internet traffic infrastructure for neighbouring countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and even landlocked nations like South Sudan.
“The launch of the Mombasa IXP is a significant complement to the existing LINX IXP in Nairobi a step that will bolster interconnection across East Africa,” said Nimpuno. “Improved efficient local traffic exchange enhances network resilience, reduces latency, and supports a seamless digital experience. This expansion strengthens not only our partnership with iColo, but the region’s digital backbone, as we work together to pave the way for greater connectivity, innovation, and economic growth.”
Several international content providers, cloud services, and digital infrastructure companies have a presence in Mombasa’s data centres. These include Google, Akamai and Netflix. By hosting popular content locally, the need to retrieve it from overseas servers will be reduced.
“With over 90 networks connected at our data centre campuses in Mombasa, the addition of LINX gives our customers a far-reaching global platform for enhancing interconnectivity. LINX provides an opportunity for our customers to peer at other global locations, including Nairobi, strengthening worldwide connectivity,” said iColo founder and chief executive Ranjith Cherickel. LINX Mombasa will be the first Internet Exchange Point at iColo’s MBA2 facility and with a physical presence in both sites and an interconnected fabric setup, this adds a new level of interconnection services for the region.
LINX Mombasa is predicted to go live early in Q1 of 2025 and is planned to mirror the technical set up in Nairobi, using Nokia kit to enable peering services and more on 100G ports from day one. Existing members of LINX globally including networks connected to LINX Nairobi will be able to take a 10G port with 1Gbps of peering service with no additional costs as this is part of LINX’s unique membership package.