BRINGING QUALITY CONTENT TO AFRICAN SHORES
Johannesburg, South Africa – 21 April 2017
Fastly – the edge cloud platform that powers fast, secure, and scalable online experiences for the world’s most popular businesses – continues to grow and expand rapidly, now adding Africa to its fast-growing global network reach. Privately owned global Network Service Provider, Workonline Communications and data center service provider Teraco have collaborated to make this move possible for Fastly.
Fastly has been adding global reach to its network in support of increasing real-time web, app, and API content delivery traffic. Fastly helps the world’s most popular digital businesses – including Airbnb, The New York Times, and Ticketmaster – keep pace with their customer expectations by delivering the most secure, and scalable real-time experiences.
“We realise the importance and the benefits of a CDN deploying in our market, particularly in terms of improved quality and cost reduction. Major CDNs like Fastly’s offering add enormous potential to the development of the local market as a whole. Workonline Communications is committed to providing the best for Africa as well as to developing the African market in every way possible. We are excited to be involved in the launch of Fastly in Africa,” says Workonline’s Director of Business Development, Edward Lawrence.
CDNs are an essential tool to successfully conduct business online, as the Internet was not originally built to handle the demands of massive amounts of data, live HD video, flash sales, and large downloads that have now become the standard. CDNs ensure that the Internet works better, delivering media at scale, and enabling a better experience for the end user.
“Our collaboration with the teams at Workonline and Teraco enabled Fastly to quickly deploy a Fastly MegaPOP into Johannesburg. Our expanded reach reduces latency, improves performance, and enables a more robust user experience in South Africa and neighboring countries. We feel that this is a win-win-win for the Internet ecosystem of South Africa,” says Tom Daly, Vice President of Infrastructure at Fastly.
Michele McCann, head of business development at Teraco, agrees that it is consumers who ultimately benefit from access to a CDN rich in content: "Fastly provides a CDN service to digital organisations like BuzzFeed, Pinterest, Shopify, Shazam, and Alaska Airlines from key access points on the Internet (POPs). This indispensable service reduces network transit time when delivering content to end-users who are now able to enjoy a richer experience from these online organisations.”
About Fastly
Fastly helps the world’s most popular digital businesses keep pace with their customer expectations by delivering fast, secure, and scalable online experiences. Businesses trust the Fastly edge cloud platform to accelerate the pace of technical innovation, mitigate evolving threats, and scale on demand. Founded in 2011, Fastly powers online destinations including Airbnb, GitHub, Alaska Airlines, Pinterest, Vimeo, The Guardian, The New York Times, and Ticketmaster. Learn more at Fastly.com and follow us on Twitter @fastly.
About Teraco Data Environments
Teraco is the first provider of resilient, vendor neutral data environments in South Africa. Clients benefit from the cost savings and improved resilience of securely housing their information systems and networking equipment in a colocation facility purpose-built and operated to global best practice by an expert organisation with an absolute focus on data centre technology and infrastructure.
CONTINUED GROWTH OF IOT
2016 was an interesting year for the local network service provider community, with several developments taking place around IPv6, and increased peering with international networks which have deployed in the region. 2017 is bound to be another exciting year for the industry, with new developments and trends arising.
1. Accelerated uptake of IPv6
IPv6 is the latest version of the Internet Protocol, and features a vastly expanded address space to provide for the needs of the rapidly growing number of internet-connected services around the world. Uptake has been relatively slow, but seems to be improving as 2016 draws to a close.
IPv6 facilitates interconnectivity for the increasing number of connected devices and appliances from smartphones to automobiles, enabling the continued growth of the ‘Internet of Things’.
Managed effectively, IPv6 allows the reduction of the amount of information stored on network devices to route packets to their destinations. Smaller routing information bases increase efficiencies and performance, and improve the overall costs of operating provider networks.
Because of the numerous benefits associated with IPv6, along with the limited useful lifespan of IPv4, industry professionals around the world are working with network owners of all kinds around the clock to improve adoption rates, and we expect to see significantly more uptake in Africa in 2017.
2. Network Automation
We also expect to see more software-defined networking (SDN) and network automation in 2017. Essentially, this means more efficiencies and control for those who own networking technology, and increased introduction of living, breathing networks.
This is in line with the changing wants and needs of the industry. An automated network uses certain IT controls to supervise and carry out everyday network management functions based on logical decisions. It can also reduce the time involved and simplify the provisioning process of any new devices connected to the network. These functions can range from basic functions to more advanced configurations, such as provisioning a new site with just a few clicks.
3. Peering in Africa
In 2016 we have worked toward increased peering, to connect networks in sub-Saharan Africa to various networks throughout the world. This has resulted in increased global content being made available in Africa.
We expect to see an increase in peering within and to Africa, as more international exchanges recognise the value that Africa holds, and international networks benefit from the growth in this market. This will result in lower rates and more peering locally in 2017.
4. Increased neutrality of the net
Net Neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favouring or blocking particular products or websites. Now that the transition of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions has been completed, implementing multi-stakeholder governance of the Internet, we expect to see increased net neutrality.
The best way to preserve Internet freedom post the transition is for the stakeholder community of businesses, technical experts, public interest groups, and individual Internet users to come together to ensure the protection and preservation of the Internet.
5. IPv10
The industry has already entered the planning phase for IPv10, as it will assist in solving the issue of allowing IPv6-only hosts to communicate with IPv4-only hosts, and vice versa.
We expect more industry professionals to become aware of the benefits of IPv10, and become interested in learning more about it, with a focus on skills development and innovation.
6. Increased BGP Network Security
The internet wasn’t built with security in mind; it was built for communication purposes. Security is, however, of utmost importance today, as the internet houses critical business and personal information of its millions of users. Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), the routing protocol different networks use to find communication paths to each other, was also not designed with security in mind, and attackers are exploiting BGP vulnerabilities.
2017 will see increased industry focus on improving BGP security.
There has also been a push towards collaboration in the industry to improve the security and resilience of the global routing system. The Routing Resilience Manifesto initiative, underpinned by the “Mutually Agreed Norms for Routing Security (MANRS)” document that includes a set of actionable recommendations, aims at supporting this goal. We hope to see more focus toward this in 2017.
7. Balance in Costs
Lastly, there will be a focus towards costs being more realistic for the growth of the internet in Africa. Currently, there are providers who are charging exorbitant costs for bandwidth, which is having a negative effect on the growth of the local industry.
However, in markets like Europe, ISPs are struggling to cover operational costs, as their bandwidth has become too cheap. While some investment in infrastructure is still required locally, we expect to see a trend toward costs becoming more realistic, and with that more investment into the industry.
By Edward Lawrence
Business Development Director
Workonline Communications
LINX PARTNERSHIP LEADING TO GROWTH IN DEMAND FOR AFRICAN PEERING
Cape Town, South Africa – 15 November 2016
Workonline Communications, an innovative pan-African network service provider based in South Africa, has seen the demand for remote peering services grow dramatically since partnering with the London Internet exchange (LINX) last year.
The comments came ahead of the opening of AfricaCOM in Cape Town this week, a year since LINX and Workonline announced their collaboration in Africa. LINX, a mutually owned membership association for operators of Internet Protocol networks, currently has over 25 members within Africa, ranging from national telecoms providers to ISPs and mobile networks and carriers. Connecting to LINX allows Workonline to lower the number of hops to other networks, and makes troubleshooting issues less painful.
The exchange in London provides a central point for Workonline and its clients to peer with the majority of European networks. It also offers a high availability service across different fabrics and two separate LANs.
The partnership with LINX enables Workonline to lower the barrier to entry for networks looking to reach the LINX peering fabric from sub-Saharan Africa. Their carrier grade core network connects their clients from a Workonline PoP to the LINX fabric in a reliable and cost efficient manner.
Reaching LINX peers over Workonline's network helps ISPs to make the most of the benefits of peering in London. Among the benefits for Workonline’s clients are reductions in IP transit costs and not having to build and manage their own infrastructure in Europe.
Edward Lawrence, Director of Business Development for Workonline Communications, says: “Our experience in signing up to LINX was a smooth and easy process. Since joining the LINX reseller program a year ago, we have seen a large uptake in requests for remote peering services from sub-Saharan Africa to the LINX. The fact that LINX is a member run Internet Exchange makes it even more dependable, and ensures that it keeps the interests of the community at heart.”
LINX Chief Executive Officer, John Souter, added: “We are very pleased with our first year partnership with Workonline. The growth potential is good and we are keen to continue working with them to help build an ever stronger and more resilient networking community in the region.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
About LINX
The London Internet Exchange (LINX) is a mutually owned membership association for operators of Internet Protocol networks. They provide a neutral interconnection facility and peering platform, known as an Internet Exchange Point (IXP), and represent the interests of their members on matters of public policy.
Their members consist of access networks, ISPs such as BT and content providers like Google, who exchange Internet traffic between each other over their secure peering LANs. Through LINX they are able to reach 80% of the total global Internet making it one of the single biggest connection points in the world with traffic peaks of over 3.3 tb/sec on their public peering platform alone.
The London Internet Exchange (LINX) is one of the largest Internet exchanges in the world, connecting over 700 members from 70 countries around the globe. LINX continues to expand their London presence with over 11 PoPs across the capital along with regional exchanges in Wales, Manchester and Scotland. LINX also operates an Internet exchange in the Ashburn metro area in the US just outside Washington DC.
For more information, please visit www.linx.net or email marketing@linx.net
Twitter: @LINX_Network
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/linx
About Workonline
Founded in South Africa in 2006, Workonline Communications is a privately owned global Network Service Provider.
Workonline (AS 37271) is widely acclaimed as one of the largest IP transit networks in southern Africa, and our engineers are often recognised for their achievements in the global community. The Workonline network, along with the reach of our international partners, enables us to offer high quality IP transit services as well as wholesale connectivity services across Africa and in most locations in the world.
Our customers include some of the world’s largest telecommunication companies. We pride ourselves on the stability and resilience of our global network, which we operate according to the highest standards, in line with global best practices. Whilst we are large enough to ensure consistent reliability and innovation, we remain flexible enough to adapt to the specific requirements of our wholesale customers.
As a trusted advisor to our clients, innovation and agility remain at the core of our business. Our research and development is constantly in motion providing our clients with innovative and cost-effective solutions on a global scale while maintaining the highest levels of design, build and deployment. Designing innovative commercial and technical solutions has led to our exponential growth over the last decade, and ensures that we remain a leader in the provision of reliable tailor made communication services.
For more information, please visit http://www.workonline.co.za/ or email communications@workonline.africa
Twitter: twitter.com/wolcomm
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/workonline-communications
WORKONLINE FURTHER UNLOCKS EUROPE FOR ITS CLIENTS
The Hague, November 13, 2016
South African service provider Workonline Communications now also offers its customers a connection to the NL-ix peering fabric in Amsterdam, as well as peering on this themselves. NL-ix is a distributed Internet Exchange (IX) with over 100 interconnected datacenters in 30 cities spread throughout 13 countries in Europe.
"As a member of NL-ix, Workonline can now peer with all NL-ix members in Amsterdam. In addition, as a reseller, we can enable our clients to peer with all members connected to the NL-ix EU peering fabric.” says Edward Lawrence, Director of Business Development for Workonline Communications, “adding even more weight to our commitment to connect Africa to the world and the world to Africa.”
Networks connecting to NL-ix will be able to reach the 471 other networks that are connected to NL-ix, anywhere in Europe.
Jan Hoogenboom, founder of NL-ix is excited with this new partnership: "We see every new reseller as a very welcome extension to the reach and the added value of our exchange. I am sure both the Workonline clients as well as the NL-ix members will benefit from this partnership."
NETWORK OPERATORS, WHERE ARE YOUR MANRS?
The Internet Society Announces Major Momentum in Internet Security Initiative and Encourages More Network Operators to Sign up
Washington, D.C. – October 13, 2016 – The Internet Society today announced the number of participants in the organization’s Mutually Agreed Norms for Routing Security (MANRS) initiative has more than quadrupled in its first two years, growing from 9 to 42 network operators. Launched in November 2014 with an initial group of nine operators, the MANRS initiative, part of the Routing Resilience Manifesto, obliges participants to take action to improve the resilience and security of the routing infrastructure to keep the Internet safe for businesses and consumers alike. The network operators participating in this effort run autonomous system networks (ASNs) across 21 countries, reflecting a broad-based concern about risks to the Internet’s routing system and an increased willingness to signal technical excellence to the public and to their operator peers.
The most recent additions are SUNET and NORDUnet, two leading research and education networks in Scandinavia. Thirty-three network operators have now committed to MANRS since the initial launch with 9 members. Among the new members joining during the initiative’s second year was Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ), the first participant from Japan. “Coordination and cooperation based on our relationships of mutual trust are the key elements to run the Internet, and we have shared responsibilities to improve the Internet operations,” said Junichi Shimagami, Director and CTO of IIJ. In a follow-up action, the Japan Network Information Center (JPNIC) facilitated the translation of the MANRS document into Japanese. The MANRS initiative, which reduces networking risks and promotes best practices, is now well established in Asia, North and South America, Africa and Europe. Countries with the largest number of members include Russia (six), Netherlands (five), USA (five) and Germany (four).
“As networks have come under increased stress from corporations, governments and other actors, not all benign, the visibility of the Internet’s routing infrastructure as a critical component has become as high as that of the Domain Name System (DNS) or other core infrastructure,” said Olaf Kolkman, Chief Internet Technology Officer (CITO) at the Internet Society. “By promoting routing security and resilience, MANRS gives operators a way to demonstrate their commitment to networking excellence, helping to restore trust in the Internet to anxious peers, businesses, customers and individuals.”
In joining MANRS, participants certify that they have taken action in at least one of these four areas: filtering, anti-spoofing, coordination and global validation, with coordination not allowed as the only action. Most operators have implemented all four, including Comcast, one of the world’s largest broadband operators, which has done so across 33 ASNs. None have acted on fewer than three.
The first action, filtering, helps prevent the propagation of incorrect routing information. This technique provides assurance against “fat-finger” errors that can lead to "hijacking" traffic directed to other networks, resulting in widespread outages. Up-to-date filters also have mitigated known cases of “route leaks,” defined in the IETF’s RFC 7908 in June 2016 as “the propagation of routing announcement(s) beyond their intended scope.” The second action entails preventing traffic with spoofed source IP addresses, a practice that can help dramatically diminish the prevalence and impact of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. The third action facilitates timely communication and coordination among peers, which is essential for incident mitigation and better assurance of the technical quality of relationships. The fourth is facilitating the global validation of routing information, which limits the scope of routing incidents and makes the global system more resilient.
Implementing MANRS helps improve Internet security and resilience and helps enable a sustainable business environment. MANRS provides added value for the network operator and its customers: better protection against traffic anomalies caused by misconfigurations; cleaner setups resulting in easier troubleshooting and lower time-to-resolution (TTR); improved peering conditions; and opportunities for valuable collaboration with other operators through a discussion forum and professional network. Although committing to MANRS has its costs, the scope of the actions is specifically defined to minimize costs and the risks of implementing them.
As word about MANRS has spread and the need for guidance has grown, a team of participants has convened to draft a Best Current Operational Practices (BCOP) document, walking interested parties through the steps to become MANRS-compliant. That document is expected to be presented for review by regional BCOP communities at RIPE 73 in late October. Related efforts involve future training modules and self-assessment guides. Monitoring and debugging (e.g. looking-glass) tools are also under consideration. The MANRS initiative is currently testing the use of BGPStream and Spoofer to check for compliance. Once consensus on application of these tests is reached, it will publish them for transparency and potentially integrate them into the sign-up process.
Public discussions of MANRS tend to occur alongside network operator meetings, such as NANOG, RIPE, and APNIC/APRICOT. A representative from MANRS spoke yesterday, October 12, 2016, at the Internet Society’s ION Bucharest Conference, co-located with the Romanian Network Operators’ Group. A recently released video featuring Internet Society CITO Olaf Kolkman provides an overview of MANRS and collaborative security. Operators interested in joining MANRS can sign up online.
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. For more information, visit: www.internetsociety.org.
IT PERSONALITY FINALIST - EDWARD LAWRENCE
Co-founder and director of Workonline Communications, Edward Lawrence, has been selected as one of ten finalists in the 2016 IT Personality of the Year Awards.
The IT Personality of the Year Award, now in its 38th year, is presented by The Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA), in association with ITWeb, the Gordon Institute of Business Science and Gartner Africa. It recognises a person who has made an outstanding impact on the SA ICT industry over the past year and a significant contribution to the IT profession.
You can cast your vote in support of Edward's nomination here
FURTHER AFRICAN ACCESS TO GLOBAL IXs
As part of its commitment to assisting African networks to further develop their global footprint, Workonline Communications, leading provider of wholesale IP transit and transport services based in sub-Saharan Africa, continues to grow its offering of access to the world’s largest and most strategic Internet Exchanges (IXs) from Africa.
The company’s relationship with the German-based Internet Exchange (IX), DE-CIX, is one of its most recent successes in this regard, which will assist Workonline and its clients to extend their reach. The exchange is now one of several global IXs to which Workonline offers remote peering services.
DE-CIX operates several Internet exchange points (IXPs) internationally, in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Dusseldorf, Palermo, Marseille, Madrid, Istanbul, Dubai, New York and Dallas. DE-CIX Frankfurt, is one of the world’s leading IXPs, with more than 5.1 Terabits per second peak traffic.
More than 800 customers from 60+ nations use DE-CIX’s platforms to lower costs, reduce latency, and increase IP performance and resilience.
Edward Lawrence, Director of Business Development for Workonline Communications explains, “Workonline's portfolio of carrier-focused services enables our clients to extend their reach to new markets and enhance their existing services. This partnership with DE-CIX gives our clients the opportunity to expand their businesses and exchange traffic with more networks, through a trusted and reliable exchange.”
“Having an established African network like Workonline Communications on board as a DE-CIX reseller is truly a sign of the growing importance of peering worldwide. Workonline Communications’ as well as DE-CIX’s customers will benefit from this new partnership. The traffic exchange will further increase the quality of their IP networks,” says Harald A. Summa, CEO of DE-CIX.
“Workonline remains committed to connecting Africa to the world and the world to Africa. Partnerships such as this assist us in reaching this goal and ensuring our clients are able to meet theirs too,” Lawrence concludes.
ENDS
ABOUT WORKONLINE
Founded in South Africa in 2006, Workonline Communications is a privately owned global Network Service Provider. It is widely acclaimed as the South African network with the highest number of directly interconnected global tier 1 transits. The Workonline network, along with the reach of our international partners, enables us to offer high quality wholesale IP transit services as well as connectivity services to almost any location in the world.
Our customers include some of the world’s largest telecommunication companies. We pride ourselves on the stability and resilience of our global network, which we operate according to the highest standards across multiple points of presence (PoPs).
The combination of our strong partnerships and our highly skilled and experienced engineers allows us to remain a leader in the provision of reliable tailor made communication services.
www.workonline.co.za |Twitter @wolcomm
DE-CIX – Where networks meet
DE-CIX provides premium Internet exchange (IX) services and operates several carrier and data center-neutral Internet exchanges internationally. Founded in 1995, DE-CIX has established an environment for the bilateral settlement-free exchange of Internet traffic, called peering. The company serves 850+ carriers, ISPs and content networks from 60+ countries, including all leading international players in various metro markets in Europe, the Middle East and North America. With 5.1+ Terabits per second of peak traffic, DE-CIX Frankfurt is the world’s leading Internet exchange. DE-CIX is your one-stop-shop for peering, interconnection and additional IX services.
Workonline Communications Media Contact:
Greg Forbes (CPRP)
Group Managing Director: Lion's Wing Brand Communications - South Africa
+ 27 (0)11 888 9816 |+ 27 (0)82 399 039
greg@lionswing.co.za
Media contact DE-CIX:
Carsten Titt - Senior Manager Global Public Relations
Phone: +49 (0)69 1730902 130
Email: carsten.titt@de-cix.net
Internet: www.de-cix.net
INCREASING DEMAND FOR REMOTE PEERING SERVICES
Pan-African terrestrial Network Service Provider, Workonline Communications, has seen increased demand since turning up remote peering services to the London Access Point (LONAP) Internet exchange point, a little less than a year ago.
London is one of the most densely connected cities in the world and with a list of active members, including global networks, London-based businesses, and FTSE100 companies, LONAP members exchange traffic through a network of interconnected switches hosted in the LONAP data centres, across the city of London and Docklands.
Workonline Communications made access to this Internet exchange point available in sub-Saharan Africa late last year, enabling Workonline clients to extend their reach into new markets. LONAP compliments the services Workonline clients take from NAPAfrica, the largest Internet Exchange in Africa.
In terms of the benefits of the relationship, Edward Lawrence, co-founder and Director of Business Development at Workonline Communications, explained that the Workonline service provides a lower financial entry point for networks to reach internet exchange points from Africa, and that the company’s resilient carrier-grade core network ensures the reliability of the connection to the LONAP peering fabric.
“This assists Internet service providers in sub-Saharan Africa to make the most of the benefits of peering at LONAP (such as reducing their IP transit costs, and increasing the quality of their services) without having to build and manage their own infrastructure in Europe.”
Richard Irving, Managing Director of LONAP commented "The Workonline relationship has allowed LONAP to assist those networks located in Southern Africa to improve their connectivity and end user experience.”
Remote peering allows networks to access global Internet Exchanges with very little or no capital outlay. This service, comments Michele McCann, business development manager of NAPAfrica, assists in enabling African markets to access global content.
Lawrence says that the partnership is helping African networks develop their global footprint further. “Workonline is focused on assisting the further development of the African network community through numerous initiatives. We feel that this collaboration furthers our previous efforts in this regard, such as offering free IPv6 transit to AfriNIC LIR members, and offering remote peering and partial IP transit services to LONAP.”
ENDS
Notes:
Workonline Communications is an innovative pan-African terrestrial Network Service Provider. Founded in Cape Town in 2006, Workonline is focused on providing connectivity and IP transit services to the wholesale market. Its customers include some of the world's largest telecommunication companies. The company prides itself on the stability, resilience and redundancy provisions of its global network, which it operates according to the highest standards.
LONAP is a ‘not for profit’ Layer 2 Internet Exchange Point (IXP) based in London UK. Our data-centres host a network of interconnected switches providing free-flowing peering to help minimise interconnection costs. We provide exclusive connectivity between members, who are effectively LONAP stakeholders. This ensures that LONAP members enjoy excellent value and maximum benefits.
MOST INNOVATIVE AFRICAN NETWORK SERVICE PROVIDER
Workonline Communications has won the Most Innovative African Network Service Provider & TMT Pioneer Award for Customised IT Solutions in the recent TMT Telecoms Awards.
TMT News had the following to say: Telecommunication is key to modern life, with businesses, support services and individuals all relying heavily on Telecoms services to keep them connected. As such The 2016 Telecommunication Awards have been created to reward and recognise the service providers and technology innovators in this vital and dynamic sector. The programme has focused on firms of all sizes and locations, our sole focus has been on dedication, hard work and client focus.
Speaking about the programme Tom Jones, Awards Coordinator, stated: “The telecoms industry is a vital aspect of our lives, and those who work within it are responsible for the livelihoods of thousands, if not millions, of people. As such I am proud to turn the spotlight on our deserving winners, and wish them every success in the future.”
On behalf of Workonline, Director of Business Development, Edward Lawrence says: “We are both excited and humbled to have been chosen as winners of this TMT award. We aim to remain innovative and pursue excellence in all we do, which proves that our efforts are worthwhile. We remain dedicated to improving the quality of the internet in Africa, while driving down costs and developing this market for all.”
WORLD WILL WAKE TO AFRICA
First published in Gadget
The tech industry is constantly changing and EDWARD LAWRENCE, Director of Business Development at Workonline Communications, believes that there are huge changes in store for Africa, particularly related to the growth of the Internet.
The cutting edge nature of the tech industry means that constant change is a certainty. I do believe that the changes in store for Africa in the near future, particularly related to the development of the Internet in the region, are truly revolutionary. Here are some of the trends that I think will shape the future of the internet on the continent in the next little while.
The world is waking up to Africa
Having attended several industry related conferences across the world in recent months, in places such as Marrakech, New Zealand, California and even Hawaii, it is clear that global attitudes towards Africa as a prospective market are changing.
Generally, market entrants have been overwhelmed by the success of their expansions into Africa. Amongst these, international online giants such as Google, Microsoft, Netflix and Akamai who are peering in South Africa seem to have been very successful. This trend is set to assist in lowering the cost of Internet access for local ISPs. Instead of them having to pay to pick up content from these networks from other regions (usually Europe), they can now pick it up at internet exchanges in South Africa such NAP Africa, JINX, CINX or DINX at very low rates, or even free of charge.
South Africa’s healthy Internet exchange (IX) ecosystem is, as will hopefully be the trend with less developed markets in the region, encouraging deregulation and lowering the cost of services for end users. With the establishment of IXs, ISPs can reduce their costs and hence invest more in expanding their networks and gaining market share. Once content networks realise that they can connect with many ISPs with many end users in a single location at reasonable costs, they are encouraged to develop in the region. As this process occurs, it usually attracts further investment in the industry, draws revenue away from the incumbents, and opens the market for innovative new entrants.
Demand will increase and must be met
As more and more people connect to the Internet across the continent, the domino effect picks up pace and demand for Internet services increases. This increase in demand is coupled with high expectations from a quality and speed perspective by newcomers to the Internet (often regardless of the actual benefit of the additional speed to the user). Interestingly, we found that people living in South African metropoles often have higher expectations than people living in Europe when it comes to the quality of an internet browsing experience through their mobile network operator.
This is because quality of Internet and connectivity is a frequent discussion point here, mainly due to the poor state this market was in not so long ago. It is used as a marketing tool, and therefore front of mind for the end consumer. Consumers have been conditioned to be unhappy if they do not have superfast Internet. The demand is not as high yet in some other African countries, or more rural areas, but it is definitely developing at a rapid and steady pace.
Women first
Another interesting trend I have noticed of late is that there are very few females in the industry in sub-Saharan Africa. In North Africa, for example, attending an IPv6 training session in Tunisia, the room was filled with women, and there were very few men present. If you go to an IPv6 training session in South Africa, however, it is a rare occurrence to see a woman in attendance. I foresee a mass entry of women into the technical side of the industry in the near future as the social barriers to entry are torn down.
We see this trend manifesting in Europe, where many organisations made up of women working together have sprung up and have now garnered a lot of strength in the European tech community. We support these movements in Europe wholeheartedly, and we are currently investigating ways to recreate this trend here and elevate women’s roles in the local market.
The full value of IPv6 to be unleashed
Everything that connects to the Internet needs an Internet protocol address, a string of numbers, to do so. Before, these addresses were in an Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) format, but this format didn’t allow for enough addresses and they are coming close to exhaustion. IPv6 is the latest version of the Internet Protocol, and features a vastly expanded potential number of addresses to provide for the needs of the rapidly growing number of Internet-connected devices and services around the world. In technical terms, the existing IPv4 notation has been extended from 32 bits to 128 bits per IP address.
Workonline is in the process of setting up an advanced IPv6 workshop to be held as often as once a quarter in South Africa, to guide engineers with the deployment of IPv6 on their network, as this is a need that we have recognised within the local industry. At the moment, many engineers have had basic training or exposure to IPv6. They get their addresses assigned from their RIR, they know how it works conceptually, but then they stop. They do not actually deploy it across their access layer because they are frightened by the potential risks involved and often don’t know where to turn to get advice or share thoughts with other engineers who have successfully deployed IPv6 across various types of networks. Attending an advanced IPv6 workshop with globally recognised experts present would allow them to speak more freely and get stuck into the guts of deploying IPv6 on the whole of their networks, unleashing the benefits of this protocol.
As I write this, I’m on my way to Copenhagen to join the RIPE meeting. Workonline partnered with layer 2 Internet Exchange Point (IXP) NAPAfrica, to assist RIPE NCC to gather Internet data that will help network operators gain further visibility into the structure of the African Internet.
With 21 other RRCs at IXPs around the world, until now Africa has been the only continent without a RIPE NCC Route Collector, which means that it has largely been in the dark from the perspective of Internet measurements. The decision to host a route collector is extremely beneficial to operators in the region. The sponsorship of bandwidth for the RRC is in line with our commitment to continue developing the African Internet as a whole. Having access to this data will be beneficial to our clients and the industry, and we are excited to be part of the project.
It is important that the industry continues to look for ways to bring better Internet to the continent through strategic partnerships.
Edward Lawrence is an entrepreneur with over 10 years of experience in the Information Communication and Technology (ICT) sector. He has held directorships of several companies across various industries, including the telecommunications, information technology, marketing, automotive and music industries. Workonline Communications was co-founded by Edward in 2006. Today it is the leading South African network service provider with the highest number of directly interconnected global tier 1 transits, boasting partnerships with global giants like Level 3, NTT, TeliaSonera and the like.