[snip from AfriSPA list ]
Press Release For Immediate Release (Contact; Eric M.K Osiakwan - [EMAIL PROTECTED], 0244.386792) LAUNCH OF GHANA INTERNET EXCHANGE (GIX) On Tuesday 18th October 2005, the entire Internet fraternity in Ghana would be gathered at the Ghana India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in the company of the Hon. Minister of Communication and the French Ambassador to Ghana to officially launch the Ghana Internet eXchange (GIX @ www.gixa.org.gh). The Ghana Internet eXchange (GIX) is the facility which keeps Ghanaian Internet traffic in Ghana. GIX allows local Internet Service Providers and Network Operators to easily exchange traffic within Ghana, while improving connectivity and services for their customers. BENEFITS The value of an IXP is clear to governments, regulators, industry experts, and industry members for good reason: it usually heralds significant development and opportunities for new revenue in the local ICT industry. It is because of this eventual national pay-off that IXPs are usually financed by donations from individuals, organizations, corporations, governments, etc. One point of failure for Exchanges is attempting to finance them by means other than donations or sponsorship. The cost of the Exchange is minimal compared with the benefits. Exchange points have two benefits (short and long term) that directly address two obstacles to ICT growth (international bandwidth costs and network latency). The short-term benefit happens overnight. Once ISPs are connected to the Exchange, they will no longer pay international bandwidth costs for local, Ghanaian traffic. This cost savings, however, is not the only value of an IXP. The long-term benefits far outweigh the short-term. Once the ISPs are connected to the GIX, latency or transit time of traffic becomes a fraction of what it was since it stays within the same network. As a result of this increased speed and reliability, additional "value-added" services become possible on the national network. Exchange Points make web content hosting, audio and video streaming, E-commerce, E-governance, etc. possible. Right now ISPs and local businesses often go outside of Ghana for advanced Internet solutions such as the above, taking revenue elsewhere. With the GIX, all of that business and the revenue that comes with it can come to Ghana creating more entrepreneurial opportunities, jobs, and options for investment. In Ghana the cost of Internet bandwidth and connectivity is highest compared to the rest of the competitive world. In one sense the cost of sending a local destined email is equal to the cost of sending an internationally destined email. To overcome this anomaly, connecting to a local or National exchange in this case GIX ensures that the cost of sending a locally destined email is at a lower cost. With the offsetting of the local traffic to the exchange point, the upgrading of International links of operators can be postponed for an additional period. Therefore translating to saving on the International link capacity. These savings can further be extended to the operators customers. Internet use is enhanced when the end users realize fast and efficient services. Interconnecting to the GIX will improve access to the local content. Consequently improved local communications, download and uploads are realised hence increased customer satisfaction in the quality of service provided. With the GIX being operational, we estimate that web servers and mail servers will be the first value-added services to take off within Ghana. ISPs will be able to offer web hosting with more reliability and greater connection speeds, and will also be able to offer "Ghanaian" email accounts. The GIX will create an opening for entrepreneurial co-location facilities to pop up. It is feasible that these facilities could not only host local, Ghanaian content in their premises, but could also offer competitive rates for West Africa in general. Ghana can become the "hub" of West African Internet content. Most Internet users, personal and professional, use hotmail.com and yahoo.com email accounts. Since this traffic will not be passed through the Exchange (it is not local traffic as the hotmail and yahoo mail servers are hosted outside of Ghana), users in Ghana will see the clear advantages of having an email account that is hosted in Ghana. The latency and reliability of the local services will make them compelling. This, we project, will only be the initial impact of the Exchange with many more value-added services to come. The GIX is run and operated by the Ghana Internet eXchange Association (GIXA, www.gixa.org.gh), an independent non-profit corporation establish by the Ghana Internet Service Providers Association (GISPA, www.gispa.org.gh) and other stakeholders interested in joining and growing the GIX. Whiles the GIX is a facility (router and switch) housed at the Ghana India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence, the GIXA is the community of operators (ISPs and Network Operators) who are connected and owners. GISPA is a professional, non-profit trade association representing the interest of ISPs and those interested in the provision of Internet service. The structure of the GIXA (GIX) is such that non-members of GISPA can also connect to the exchange. Hence it is open to all carriers (operators) who may want to exchange traffic locally. GISPA has been the lead organisation facilitating the establishment of the GIXA and the GIX in collaboration with other institutions who have contributed significantly such as Ministry of Communication (MoC - www.moc.gov.gh), National Communication Authority (NCA - www.nca.org.gh), Ghana India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence (KACE, www.kace-aiti.com.gh), Geekcorps (www.geekcorps.org), Packet Clearing House (PCH, www.pch.net), African Internet Service Providers Association (AfrISPA, www.afrispa.org), Ghana Network Information Centre (GhNIC, www.nic.gh), NTIC of the French Government through the French Embassy in Ghana (www.diplomatie.gouv.fr) and it's members who have donated resources, time and money in various forms. regards _______________________________________________ LUG mailing list [email protected] http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/lug %LUG is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including attachments if any). 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