Emma Okonji
The Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) and TeleAfrica Communications Limited are set to strengthen West Africa’s internet landscape through a strategic move.
Both organisations disclosed the plan when they hosted the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) Peering Workshop 2026 last week in Abuja.
The two-day technical and strategic training brought together industry leaders, network engineers, and telecommunications experts to collaborate on expanding infrastructure, eliminating systemic bottlenecks, and driving Nigeria’s digital transformation.
According to participants at the workshop, despite being one of Africa’s largest economies, Nigeria faces a critical hosting deficit, as current data reveals that Nigeria hosts only 22 per cent of its top 1,000 most-accessed websites locally, trailing the continental average of 34 per cent.
In his opening remarks, the Managing Director, IXPN, Muhammed Rudman, emphasised the urgent need to bridge Nigeria’s Autonomous System Number (ASN) density gap, noting that Nigeria currently registers just one ASN per million people, compared to 13 in South Africa and 43 in Brazil.
Addressing these hurdles, Rudman detailed IXPN’s role as a vital catalyst for the nation’s tech ecosystem. “By keeping local traffic local, IXPN is building the foundation for a faster, more connected, and sovereign Nigeria,” he said.
Chairman of TeleAfrica Communications, Ikechukwu Nnamani, showcased how robust interconnectivity and secure switching centers directly support the vision. He noted that operating the critical ABV1 datacenter in Abuja, which bridges telecom traffic between northern and southern Nigeria, TeleAfrica would ensure that digital services are evenly distributed nationwide.
Nnamani highlighted how the unique model actively corrects a major pain point in the local telecom sector.