IXPN targets 90% local internet traffic by 2046 as Nigeria eyes African content hub status

Muhammad Rudman, Chief Executive Officer of IXPN, disclosed the ambition on Friday at the organisation’s 20th anniversary Gala and Award Dinner, where he outlined plans to expand local internet exchange infrastructure, attract more content providers and connect networks across Nigeria’s 36 states.

The target would mean keeping nine out of every 10 units of internet traffic generated or consumed in Nigeria within the country, with only 10% exchanged internationally.

“Our dream by the year 2046 is Nigeria will become the hub for Internet content in Africa,” Rudman said. “Therefore, African countries will interconnect with Nigeria to fetch their content.” He said achieving the ambition would require stronger collaboration among internet service providers (ISPs), data centre operators, telecommunications companies, educational institutions and government agencies to increase the volume of locally hosted and exchanged internet content.

“Our dream by the year 2046 is Nigeria will become the hub for Internet content in Africa,” Rudman said. “Therefore, African countries will interconnect with Nigeria to fetch their content.”

He said achieving the ambition would require stronger collaboration among internet service providers (ISPs), data centre operators, telecommunications companies, educational institutions and government agencies to increase the volume of locally hosted and exchanged internet content.

The IXPN CEO identified Nigeria’s population, cultural diversity and growing entertainment industries as potential drivers of cross-border internet connectivity, particularly if more locally generated content is hosted within the country.

Nigeria’s music and movie industries, including productions in Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo languages, Rudman added, are examples of content that could attract internet traffic from other African countries.

According to him, hosting such material locally and making it accessible through Nigeria’s internet exchange infrastructure could encourage internet service providers in neighbouring countries to connect to Nigerian networks to access the content.

Rudman said Nigeria had already domesticated approximately 70% of its internet traffic, although a substantial proportion of the locally exchanged traffic currently consists of video content. “Right now, the 70% that we have local, a substantial part of it is video content,” he said.

He also identified local hosting of Nigerian businesses’ websites and digital services as an important requirement for increasing domestic traffic, encouraging more networks to interconnect within the country and reducing reliance on international routes for accessing locally relevant content.

Providing an overview of the organisation’s development over the past two decades, Rudman said Nigeria’s internet traffic domestication had increased significantly from its early beginnings, when less than 1% of internet traffic was exchanged locally.

IXPN’s traffic capacity reached 2.9 terabits per second (Tbps) in 2026, compared with 900 gigabits per second (Gbps) in 2024 and 2Tbps in 2025. The organisation is targeting 3Tbps by the end of 2026.

Rudman also disclosed that IXPN now has more than 130 interconnected customers representing different networks, with over 200 connected ports and infrastructure deployed across approximately 30 data centre locations.

He said the exchange currently supports ports with capacities of up to 400Gbps, while plans are underway to introduce higher-capacity technologies, including 800Gbps and 1.6Tbps ports, depending on demand.

Internet exchange points provide infrastructure through which internet service providers, telecommunications operators and content networks exchange data directly within a country rather than routing domestic traffic through international networks.

The arrangement allows networks to exchange locally generated and consumed traffic without necessarily relying on international transit providers, supporting more direct connectivity between participating networks.

Rudman credited the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) with supporting IXPN’s establishment and expansion across the country.

He specifically acknowledged their support in enabling the organisation to establish additional branches in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and other locations.

He also revealed that efforts to establish a connection with South Africa had been delayed by the high cost of transmission capacity between Lagos and the country. According to him, Digital Realty was working with IXPN to explore ways of providing transmission capacity at a price below the cost of international internet transit.

As part of its strategy to increase local internet traffic, Rudman identified universities and other higher educational institutions as potential drivers of demand for internet exchange infrastructure across Nigeria.

Connecting tertiary institutions within the same geographical areas would allow them to exchange educational resources locally while creating opportunities for investment in regional data centres.

Using Zaria in Kaduna State as an example, he noted that the area has approximately 10 higher educational institutions that are not interconnected with one another.

According to him, connecting these institutions could enable universities to share educational content, support remote teaching and make locally hosted academic resources accessible without unnecessarily relying on international internet routes.

Rudman said IXPN was seeking collective industry support to connect 100 higher educational institutions by 2030.

He clarified that the target was not one IXPN intended to achieve independently but a collective responsibility involving internet service providers, data centre operators and other industry stakeholders.

“What I am saying here is that we, all of us here, collectively, need to find a way to reach that target,” he said. He urged internet service providers to establish a presence in more locations and collaborate with educational institutions to improve connectivity.

He also called on data centre operators to consider establishing smaller facilities in different parts of the country to support local content hosting and reduce the concentration of infrastructure in major commercial centres.

Beyond expanding its domestic infrastructure, IXPN plans to strengthen regional internet connectivity by encouraging more African countries to connect to its exchange platform.

Rudman disclosed that the organisation was already interconnected with networks in Ghana and was working to bring additional international telecommunications operators onto its platform.

He also revealed that efforts to establish a connection with South Africa had been delayed by the high cost of transmission capacity between Lagos and the country. According to him, Digital Realty was working with IXPN to explore ways of providing transmission capacity at a price below the cost of international internet transit.

The organisation also plans to introduce direct peering arrangements with cloud service providers, allowing networks to exchange traffic more efficiently with cloud platforms.

Other planned developments include remote peering, collaboration with internet exchange points in other African countries and greater automation of its network configuration processes.

Rudman said IXPN was also exploring partnerships with technology service providers to introduce artificial intelligence into its operations.

While outlining the organisation’s expansion plans, Rudman emphasised the importance of trust and voluntary participation in building a sustainable internet exchange ecosystem.

He explained that IXPN’s development over the years had depended on bringing competing internet service providers and network operators together to exchange traffic.

According to him, compelling operators to interconnect through government directives could undermine the trust required for successful collaboration.

“I keep insisting that it should be that way. In fact, there are areas when certain ministers want to implement policy to mandate everybody to interconnect with ISP. I keep insisting, no. Let it be value driven,” Rudman said.

He maintained that operators should recognise the commercial and operational benefits of interconnection rather than participate because of government intervention.

IXPN’s development plan for 2026 to 2030 will focus on strengthening its national infrastructure, expanding connectivity and attracting more networks and content providers to its platform.

The IXPN CEO said achieving the organisation’s 2046 ambition would require sustained investment and cooperation across Nigeria’s digital infrastructure ecosystem.

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