Announced first at Capacity Africa 2012, the partnership gives SEACOM the opportunity to offer African internet companies enhanced availability on the AMS-IX platform.
AMS-IX said the deal will herald greater partnerships in peering and IP interconnection between Africa and European networks.
The company further expressed its commitment to the African region and confirmed its intentions to establish an internet exchange presence in east Africa to keep regional traffic local.
As part of that strategy, AMS-IX is also in discussions with the Kenya Internet Exchange Point for closer cooperation, with future guidelines to build an internet hub in east Africa.
“To have a good interconnection and internet performance in the region, the setup of an internet exchange hub in essential,” said Job Witteman, CEO of AMS-IX. “At the same time, we want to keep AMS-IX relevant for our members and customers. SEACOM has the services and connectivity to bring new unique networks from the African continent to Amsterdam, making it an important partner for AMS-IX.
SEACOM was the first player in Africa to build a submarine cable system across the eastern and southern African coastlines, providing connectivity to Europe, India and Asia.
Its CEO Mark Simpson said the partnership will further enhance its value proposition in the region. “AMS-IX will improve efficiencies through our infrastructure and will open up a large international internet community to directly interconnect with our customers,” he added.
