Akamai finds a home in Africa

Teraco, Africa’s provider of carrier and vendor neutral data centres, recently teamed up with local ISP Vox Telecom to bring Akamai’s global content to Africa’s doorstep. 

The Akamai node and infrastructure is being deployed in Teraco and will be connected to the NAPAfrica IXP (internet exchange point) in Johannesburg, South Africa. 

By leveraging the Vox Telecom carrier network, hosting within the most connected data centre on the continent, Akamai will now be able to deliver international content to local consumers at improved speeds.  This marks a trend in global content service providors investing in African shores seeking to provide more cost-efficient internet content and access throughout Africa.   

Providing African internet users with quality international content from a local node, cost effectively and at world-class download speeds, remains a challenge. Video-driven data is flooding the internet adding to consumer demand. With Akamai and other global content providers building local nodes and gearing-up through the NAPAfrica IXP (internet exchange point), however, the internet consumer market can now look forward to reaping the benefits of an improved user experience and faster download speeds.

The Akamai infrastructure will provide access to key content from global providers, as well as access to an SSL certificate node.  

The days of Africa's internet users envying the incredible download speeds of their international peers are numbered. The addition of international content providers to the NAPAfrica IXP (internet exchange point) means that end users will be able to view video content without endless buffering, access international gaming platforms with a substantially quicker response and download software in a fraction of the time we have become accustomed to.