Telecom Lead Africa: The Internet Society is organizing
the third edition of African Peering and Interconnection Forum (AfPIF-3).
To be held 22-24 August 2012 in Johannesburg, South
Africa, the forum works toward promotion of national and cross-border
interconnection opportunities and provides opportunities for regional internet
growth.
The forum has various key stakeholders, including
infrastructure and service providers, Internet Exchange Points (IXPs),
regulators, and policy makers.
Dawit Bekele, director of Internet Society Regional
Bureau Director, Africa, said that AfPIF has added more opportunities for
business connections to be made and agreements to be negotiated.
The forum allows its shareholders to exchange
experiences, and discuss advance peering and interconnection arrangements.
At the forum, keynotes and panel sessions will cover up
topics, addressing Africa’s Internet transit deficit, including Peering
Negotiations and Strategies for Operators, Peering and Transit Economics,
Landlocked Countries and Cross-border Regulatory Reality, Exploring the Content
Business in Africa, and Attracting Global Content via Regional IXPs.
Dark Fibre Africa (DFA), Liquid Telecom and SEACOM are
sponsoring the forum this year. Ben Roberts, CTO of Liquid Telecom, said that
the event has come to Southern Africa at the right time.
AfPIF will be providing a venue for productive technical
discussions and business relationships that can be forged to augment Internet
infrastructure and services in Africa.
Gustav Smit, CEO of Dark Fibre Africa (DFA), said the
company will be showcasing the capabilities and speed of fiber at the event.
The Internet Society is an independent source for
Internet information and thought leadership from around the world. The society
works with its members and Chapters around the world and enables the continued
evolution and growth of the Internet for everyone.
In June this year, the Internet Society organized the
world IPv6 launch, which was a major milestone in the global deployment of the successor to the current Internet
Protocol, IPv4.
