By 
The Chief Executive Officer of the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), Mr. Muhammed Rudman, has reaffirmed the strategic importance of strengthening Nigeria’s local traffic exchange ecosystem, noting that it is essential for national security, digital resilience, and economic competitiveness.
Speaking at the African Tech Alliance (AfriTECH 5.0) Forum held last Thursday, Rudman explained that local traffic exchange—where ISPs, content providers, and networks share data within Nigeria rather than routing it through international channels—is the backbone of any efficient and sovereign digital economy.
He highlighted that Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) make this possible by ensuring data generated within Nigeria remains local. This improves user experience, cuts costs, and delivers significantly faster internet speeds. Rudman noted that while internationally routed traffic can experience delays of 150ms to 300ms due to undersea cable routes, local peering via IXPN reduces latency to as low as 5ms to 10ms.
“This is the difference between a frozen video call and a smooth one,” he said. “For real-time services like gaming, fintech transactions, and cloud applications, every millisecond counts.”
Beyond performance, Rudman stressed that localising traffic is critical for data sovereignty. He explained that routing Nigerian data through foreign infrastructure increases exposure to external security and surveillance risks, whereas keeping traffic domestic ensures protection under Nigerian laws. Local hosting also provides resilience during undersea cable disruptions—.ng domains and other locally hosted services remain uninterrupted even when international routes fail.
Rudman announced that IXPN recently surpassed 2 terabits per second (Tbps) in peak domestic traffic, a milestone that reflects the rapid localising of Nigerian internet activity. Some networks, he added, now achieve up to 70% traffic localisation, saving the economy hundreds of millions of dollars in international bandwidth costs and strengthening Lagos’ position as West Africa’s emerging digital hub.
“A fast, affordable, and reliable internet is the bedrock of new digital enterprises,” he said, noting that this growth supports innovation in fintech, media, cloud technology, and other digital sectors.
Rudman urged government, telecom operators, businesses, and global content providers to intensify support for local peering. He recommended that the government designate IXPs as critical national infrastructure, enforce public-sector peering, and develop incentives to encourage local hosting. He also encouraged global platforms such as Google, Meta, and Netflix to deepen their deployment of local caches.
Calling on Nigerian businesses to adopt ISPs that actively peer locally and embrace the .ng online identity, Rudman stressed that local traffic exchange is no longer optional. “It is a cornerstone of Nigeria’s digital sovereignty, economic strength, and national security,” he stated.
The fifth edition of the Africa Tech Alliance Forum (AfriTECH 5.0), held on November 13, 2025, at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos, convened stakeholders under the theme “AI & Sovereign Tech: Building Africa’s Digital Independence.”
Comments