In a move set to improve the Internet experience and lower bandwidth costs for consumers, third mobile operator Cell C has joined NAPAfrica to support open peering.
The first of SA's mobile operators to follow an open peering model, Cell C yesterday announced it has connected with peering platform NAPAfrica, which is situated in Teraco Data Environments.
Teraco CEO Lex van Wyk says open peering is an opportunity for Cell C to access an immediately visible and growing network of partners housed within the Teraco facility. This includes carriers and Internet service and content providers. "The sharing of online content and network capacity impacts on the price of connectivity, ultimately lowering bandwidth costs to the consumer."
Van Wyk says Cell C will now be able to offer a better overall Internet experience in terms of quality and speed, especially when it comes to application downloads (such as Facebook, YouTube, Google and Microsoft updates).
Alan Knott-Craig, CEO of Cell C, says peering with NAPAfrica means the operator can ensure quality and speed in data downloads. "It also offers us access to several Internet infrastructure partners and content providers, opening up opportunities within the Internet service market, locally and internationally."
Knott-Craig says Teraco's recent connection with the Amsterdam Internet Exchange - which has a direct link to NAPAfrica - is an exciting move. "This brings Africa closer to Europe in terms of content, and offers opportunities for European carriers to connect across Africa."
According to Teraco, NAPAfrica now reaches over 2Gbps with traffic - from an initial exchange of 64Mbps. "This capacity excludes the over 1 500 existing private peering connections within the Teraco facility. In the last 12 months, NAPAfrica has effectively saved Teraco clients a combined R1.47 million on bandwidth usage.
"We're hoping other mobile operators will understand the immense benefits of peering and follow in their footsteps," says Van Wyk.
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