The ECOWAS Regional Internet Exchange Point project will establish a public peering hub through which internet traffic originating and terminating within West Africa can be exchanged locally. The project is intended to reduce dependence on transit hubs outside the region, lower transit costs, improve network efficiency and enhance the quality and resilience of internet services across ECOWAS Member States.
The ECOWAS Regional Internet Exchange Point (RIXP) project aims to establish a public peering hub to localize internet traffic exchange among the 15 ECOWAS member states. The project involves setting up a regional Internet Exchange Point (RIXP) where traffic between countries within the West Africa region can be exchanged by public peering, thereby avoiding routing through external transit hubs located outside the region. Key components include the interconnection of existing National IXPs (NIXPs) within ECOWAS member states to create a regional hub for digital services, and the strengthening or creation of national IXPs in member states where they do not yet exist (notably Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone, which as of 2023 had not yet established their own IXPs). The project is implemented by the ECOWAS Project Preparation and Development Unit (PPDU) and the ECOWAS Directorate for the Digital Economy and Postal Services, with feasibility study funding provided by the European Union. The African Internet Exchange System (AXIS) project of the African Union, which supports the establishment of at least one RIXP in each of Africa's Regional Economic Communities (RECs), provides the continental framework within which this initiative sits. The RIXP is a flagship enabler for several other ECOWAS digital economy initiatives, including affordable regional mobile roaming, the regional customs network (ALISA project), and the ECOWAS e-commerce strategy.
The project is to set up a regional internet exchange point (RIXP) where traffic between countries within the West Africa region can be exchanged by public peering
1. Promote efficient internet traffic exchange through the creation or promotion of regional IXP infrastructure to facilitate the exchange of internet traffic within the ECOWAS region, thereby reducing the need to route data outside the region via international networks. 2. Ensure that internet traffic with both source and destination within the West Africa region does not have to be routed through transit hubs located outside the region. 3. Increase efficiency, improve quality of experience, and reduce the cost of transit to hubs located outside the region. 4. Enable local content development and support the digital economy across the 15 ECOWAS member states. 5. Enhance regional integration through a more interconnected and resilient regional internet infrastructure. 6. Support the success of related regional digital economy initiatives, including affordable regional mobile roaming, the operationalization of the Regional Customs Network for Transit Trade (ALISA), and the implementation of the ECOWAS e-commerce strategy. 7. Strengthen existing national IXPs and support the creation of new ones in member states where they do not yet exist, contributing to a cascading regional-national IXP development model.
Original PIDA PAP 2 submission - Objective and Rationale
To ensure that internet traffic which has source and destination within the West Africa region does not have to be routed through transit hubs of which most are located outside the region. This local exchange of traffic within the region will increase efficiency, improve quality of experience and reduce the amount and cost of transit to transit hubs located outside the region.