Burundi is amongst the latest East African country to set up an IXP, and hopes to grow the capacity exchanged locally.

The Burundi IXP Internet Exchange Point was successfully launched in March this year in Bujumbura, and is expecting to exchange 500Mbps at its peak within two months.

“The ICT community in Burundi has been on the front line to ensure the service is successful and has assisted in several ways to operationalize IXP,” said Coppens Pasteur Ndayiragije, President of BurundiX.

Currently, local providers peering at the IXP are; BBS, ECONET wireless and SPIDERNET. The country sees technology as an enabler in conducting business, poverty reduction and establishment of effective Burundian information society.

The main players in supply of Internet services in the country ECONET Wireless, SPIDERNET, BBS, LEO, ONATEL, USAN, CBINET, TEMPO AFRICELL, OSANET, but Ndayiragije is optimistic the IXP will also attract local banks, water and electricity (REGIDESO), content providers, government applications (COMGOV), and Burundi Revenue Authority (OBR),

“We hope that before the end of this year, BurundiX will be the second IXP in East Africa, after Kenya,” said Ndayiragije. “In the near future, all the local remaining ISP will join courtesy of our collaboration with the ARCT (ICT Regulator) we have put in place, a new taskforce to see how remaining ISPs (LEO, ONATEL, USAN, CBINET, TEMPO AFRICELL, OSANET) will join BurundiX in the two coming months.”

Come and meet BurundIX amongst other African IXPs at the AfPIF event in Dakar starting from 26 – 28 August 2014.