First National Bank (FNB) has become the first bank in SA to support local peering.
The bank has done so by joining the NAPAfrica platform and by leveraging its telecommunications licences, skills and internal ISP, FNB Connect.
"This is a substantial first for the South African banking industry and we believe FNB has set a great example not only for the financial services industry, but for other ISPs," says Lex van Wyk, CEO at Teraco Data Environments.
According to Van Wyk, peering will allow FNB Connect to access quality online content, and share network capacity with other carriers, Internet service providers and content providers both locally and internationally. "The sharing of network capacity impacts on the price of connectivity, ultimately lowering bandwidth costs directly to the consumer, and we are hoping other banks will understand the immense benefits of peering and follow in FNB's footsteps," says Van Wyk.
For Farren Roper, head of FNB Connect, the move solidifies the bank's commitment to ensuring its customers are satisfied. "We have used the opportunity for peering not only as a network efficiency measure, but have passed on the savings and benefits directly to our existing clients as a value-added service. One of the benefits is free access to online banking and FNB sites that we are able to provide our customers," notes Roper.
Additional benefits of the move include improved download speeds, Roper adds.
The initial introduction of route servers by NAPAfrica in 2012 has led to a subsequent reduction in ISP operating costs in the South African market through the simplification of the peering process, says Van Wyk. Because route servers lower the barrier to entry for African ISPs, like FNB Connect, all NAP members have direct access to the FNB content at no charge, he points out, adding that this increases access to key applications through clients' current service providers.
Share