On our Way to Building a Stable and Robust Internet in Africa

The African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC) and the African Telecommunication Union (ATU) sealed their collaboration through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding. The official signing took place during a virtual partnership agreement between the ATU and AFRINIC. The two organisations through this agreement will collaborate on enhancing the capacity of African regulators on IPv6 migration and Internet Performance Measurement at national levels.

“The future of the Internet in Africa remains full of endless opportunity. This collaboration will pave the way for both ATU and AFRINIC to work closer together towards a more reliable, accessible, affordable and resilient Internet to support the Digital Transformation on the continent.” says AFRINIC CEO Eddy Kayihura.

ATU Secretary-General Mr John Omo reiterated that the MOU will be of great benefit to the everyday Internet user, especially the African youth.

“To the everyday internet user, this MOU has you at heart more than anyone else. To our youthful population in Africa, the resource that we are channelling towards you today is the possibility of more efficient and secure connectivity,” says Mr Omo, the Secretary-General of the ATU.

Adding to that, Mr Omo also called on all ICT stakeholders across the continent to be alive to the most basic and fundamental needs that contribute to an easier life for the African people

The partnership between the two organisations comes at a time when IPv4 is becoming more burdened by the increased number of Internet-connected devices and emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT). The adoption of IPv6 in Africa is therefore vital for reliable and stable connectivity. This, as recognised by the MoU, calls for leveraging the skills and experiences of African Regulators and engineers in its deployment in order to accelerate the development of a resilient digital transformation infrastructure in the continent.

The MOU is also emphatic on the development and implementation of tools for Internet performance measurements in Africa which is consequently an important aspect of determining whether the internet speed provided is compliant with the speed value indicated in relevant customer's Service Level Agreement (SLA).

With the world moving online, today more people depend on the Internet to conduct various businesses and activities making the development of digital infrastructure in Africa fundamental. This is even as the African Union Agenda 2063 recognises ICT as an enabler of delivering socio-economic development in the continent. As such, the MOU will go a long way in enhancing broadband availability, uptake and affordability across the continent and are expected to lead to increased access to broadband applications and service including mobile technologies.

Author: Arthur Cardinal

Head of Stakeholder Engagement

AFRINIC