Home to several major subsea cables, including 2Africa, SEACOM, and EASSy, LINX described Mombasa as “the digital gateway for East Africa” with the location also providing critical internet traffic infrastructure for neighbouring countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda.
Its new Mombasa IXP is expected to go live early in Q1 of 2025 and will mirror the technical set-up of LINX’s Nairobi site, using technology from Nokia to enable peering services.
Subscribe today for free
“The launch of the Mombasa IXP is a significant complement to the existing LINX IXP in Nairobi a step that will bolster interconnection across East Africa,” said Nurani Nimpuno, head of global engagement at LINX. “Improved efficient local traffic exchange enhances network resilience, reduces latency, and supports a seamless digital experience.”
The Kenyan expansion will also serve content providers, cloud services, and digital infrastructure companies, of which many global giants including Google, Akamai, and Netflix have a presence in Mombasa’s data centres.
LINX will expand its partnership with local data centre operator iColo as part of the expansion, with its Mombasa IXP becoming the first at iColo’s MBA2 facility.
“With over 90 networks connected at our data centre campuses in Mombasa, the addition of LINX gives our customers a far-reaching global platform for enhancing interconnectivity,” said Ranjith Cherickel, founder and CEO of iColo. “We are excited by the numerous opportunities presented by this collaboration.”
“This expansion strengthens not only our partnership with iColo, but the region’s digital backbone, as we work together to pave the way for greater connectivity, innovation, and economic growth,” Nimpuno added.
RELATED STORIES
LINX appoints Jennifer Holmes as new CEO
LINX services go live at Lunar Digital's Manchester data centre
ITW Africa: LINX expands Nairobi network to PAIX data centres
