Category Archives: AfPIF2015

AfPIF 2015: Where Business in Africa Starts

The sixth African Peering and Interconnection Forum opened today. Sixth!

It’s a conference I’ve seen grow and change over the past six years into somewhat of a landmark event for those in Africa and working with Africa who focus on building the Internet in Africa.

So – while many technical experts, businesses leaders, content creators, and regional experts gather together for a sixth year – it strikes me as a great time really see how this conference – which started as a simple idea – has grown to become a pivotal backbone to the African economy and development.

A faster and cheaper Internet is key to African businesses

There are dozens of reports outlining the Internet’s potential for Africa and, thanks to some recent studies – there’s a clear progression in terms of how to do it.

But what needs to be said about all of this is one thing:

For Africa to profit from the Internet the Internet actually needs to be there, it needs to work, and it needs to work well.

The people who come to AfPIF are the ones who are making that happen.

Building Africa’s Business Backbone: It’s About People

What’s magic about AfPIF – truly magic – is what happens here between people. In comparison to much of the developed world – meeting one another, sharing ideas and building contacts isn’t as simple as it sounds. There are not many African forums where people can meet in an affordable environment. Many conferences are too expensive for most African professionals to attend. Travel isn’t always economically or practically feasible. In many ways working professionals exist in their own world without even knowing what is happening in the country next door.

This is why we started AfPIF:

  • Through fellowships we help key African Internet players overcome some key travel hurdles.
  • By broadcasting AfPIF over LiveStream (link). Anyone can take part from anywhere.
  • By moving the conference around to each of Africa’s regions we’re able to bring the conference TO the people who are trying to get there, and,
  • By keeping it open we remove a lot of the costly entrance fees that can be a barrier to so many.

Why Does It Work? It Wasn’t an Empty Promise

Just like the Internet we’re building – we kept AfPIF open. This means you don’t have to pay anything, you don’t need to know anyone, and you don’t need to wait for a long sought after invite to show up on your desk.

You just need to either be here in person, watch it online, share your ideas, and network. Just be a part of it.

The result is amazing. Imagine a room full of people with this amazing desire to learn – matched with an incredible desire to share. AfPIF’s camaraderie is unmatched.

We told people this was our vision, we delivered, and we kept it that way – after six years.

And, we see the impact. There are more IXPs in Africa, and more local traffic in Africa each year.

What’s the Result: Great Business Outcomes For Africa

In simple terms, “peering” is when Internet service providers (ISPs) connect with each other directly or at a central location (an IXP) to avoid sending traffic through expensive international Internet connections to connect with each other. This means ISPs can provide better performance using fewer resources. And, the rest of us have the potential to have faster and cheaper Internet.

But, when most peering relationships start with a handshake – we need a place to do that.

At AfPIF we gather together technical people, business leaders, and content providers, to build the personal relationships needed to make peering happen. Together, the plan is build, and change the African economy – one relationship at a time.

The Internet Society brings African interconnection conference to Mozambique

[Maputo, Mozambique- 27 February 2015] The Internet Society has partnered with the Eduardo Mondlane University Computing Centre (CIUEM) to bring the sixth annual Africa Peering and Interconnection Forum (AfPIF) to Maputo, Mozambique from 25-27 August 2015. Designed to address the key challenges and opportunities in interconnection, peering and traffic exchange on the continent, the conference provides a platform to help grow Internet infrastructure and services across Africa.

Over the past five years, AfPIF has positively impacted the Internet interconnection and traffic exchange landscape in Africa through experience sharing, capacity building and business linkages. During this period, there has been a notable increase in investments and initiatives that have led to improvements in the extent and quality of national and regional interconnection.

“The Southern African region has demonstrated leadership in establishing national interconnection with over 70% of the countries in the region having an operational Internet Exchange Point (IXP) and I believe it has a lot of experience to share with the rest of Africa. For this reason, we are pleased to partner with CIUEM to organize the AfPIF-2015 event in Mozambique,” said Dawit Bekele, the Internet Society’s Regional Director for Africa.

“The establishment of the Mozambique Internet Exchange (MozIX) in 2002 was a result of a long and painful process, whereby some of the local ISPs were reluctant to join the initiative promoted by CIUEM, allegedly due to lack of trust. Today, we are glad to see that 16 major operators are already connected to the MozIX. Therefore, by hosting the AfPIF-2015 event in Mozambique, we’re also celebrating these small but meaningful steps in the history of the Internet in our Country,” said Francisco Mabila, the CIUEM Director.

AfPIF has previously been held in Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Morocco and Senegal, with each event attracting more than 150 participants from more than 30 countries.

The Internet Society aims to advance the African interconnection agenda at AfPIF-2015, in line with the vision to achieve 80% local and 20% international Internet traffic by the year 2020.  The event welcomes sponsors as well as past attendees and new participants to the main peering and interconnection forum for Africa, promising more than just a forum – AfPIF provides an opportunity to advance peering and interconnection arrangements and to make a positive contribution to Africa’s Internet resources.

Read about last year’s event: AfPIF 2014 Report

About the Internet Society

The Internet Society is the trusted independent source for Internet information and thought leadership from around the world. It is also the organizational home for the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). With its principled vision and substantial technological foundation, the Internet Society promotes open dialogue on Internet policy, technology, and future development among users, companies, governments, and other organizations. Working with its members and Chapters around the world, the Internet Society enables the continued evolution and growth of the Internet for everyone.

Media Contact: Betel Hailu, hailu@isoc.org

About the Eduardo Mondlane University Computing Centre (CIUEM)

The Eduardo Mondlane University Computing Centre (CIUEM) was established in 1981, as a small technical unit, designed primarily for the provision of ICT related services and support, as well as, for advising and assisting the University management in ICT policies and strategies formulation and implementation. However, with the fast growing demand on IT services in the country, the Centre was soon challenged to also provide services to other entities outside the University.

In 1992, CIUEM has pioneered the first Internet connection in Mozambique, acting soon as the only ISP in the country until 1996. During the following years, it was involved in a number of initiatives, aiming at promoting awareness among the Government and civil society about the importance of ICT in general and the Internet in particular. As a result of those awareness campaigns, the Government approved the national ICT Policy and the Implementation strategy in 2000 and 2002 respectively, whereby CIUEM was involved in providing technical expertise and advice.

CIUEM is the “mz” top level domain administrator and since 2002 is running the Mozambique Internet Exchange (MozIX).

For more information, visit www.ciuem.mz

Media contact: Avelino Mondlane, mondlane@uem.mz