According to Asteroid, the IXP already has the likes of Facebook and Google present as well as several local Kenyan and African networks. Situated at icolo’s carrier-neutral facility in Mombasa, the Asteroid IXP will help to improve internet connectivity in East Africa and support the region’s digital growth.
“We are very proud to deploy an exchange point in Kenya,” said Remco van Mook, CEO of Asteroid. “Mombasa is the perfect place to interconnect the whole region, and the carrier-neutral icolo facilities are world class. There is a tremendous need for modern, well-run, cost effective IXPs in Africa. The Asteroid IXP will not only provide modern interconnection, it will contribute to improved Internet accessibility, lower costs and better Internet performance for Internet users in region.”
Built using next-gen technology, the Asteroid IXP is leverages a lightweight, scalable architecture and advanced toolsets. It is designed with automation at the heart of it providing security from the outset and a modern feature set delivering a efficient and cost effective solution.
“We are very excited to partner with Asteroid,” added Ranjith Cherickel, CEO of icolo. “Asteroid bring considerable experience from the interconnection space. Their ultramodern IXP solution at the icolo data centre, will not only help significantly improve the performance between ISPs in the region, it will also attract new players to the country and boost the interconnection growth more broadly.”
The icolo data centre in Mombasa already welcomes all major subsea cables into the region. As it is already attracting many local, regional and international, the addition of the Asteroid IXP positions Mombasa as the largest regional internet hub in East Africa.
In 2018, Asteroid entered into a partnership with West African data centre provider, MDXI to launch an IXP in Lagos, Nigeria.
