SEACOM, the company that makes sure SA is connected to the internet has become the first African carrier to peer at the Netnod Internet exchange point in Sweden.

So, why does this matter to you?

Well, there are a couple of reasons actually. The first is that Netnod is a peer network exchange. This means that carriers such as SEACOM can relay traffic at the exchange and reduce latency while improving the speed of the network.

The second benefit of this peering is that Netnod is the exchange of choice for a number of services including Cloudflare, Facebook, Microsoft and a stack more. Once again this means faster speeds and reduced latency when connecting to these services.

Scrolling through the list of services we noticed Riot Games, the name behind League of Legends, is connected to the exchange. We’ve asked SEACOM whether this will mean an end to the latency of 200+ms in the game and once they respond we will update you here.

“The majority of Internet traffic into and out of Africa goes to Europe, which is why we’re investing in connectivity on the continent,” head of engineering at SEACOM, Mark Tinka said in a statement.

This peering with Netnod makes SEACOM the only African carrier with a direct link into Sweden.

“Our physical presence in Stockholm, and our relationship with Netnod, will be significant for multinationals that are based in – or do business with – between Nordic countries and Africa,” explained Tinka.

Chief executive officer of Netnod, Lars Michael Jogback, also commented on the peering saying, “We are delighted to have SEACOM as our first African customer at Netnod.”

“Africa is a fast-growing region, and we look forward to SEACOM bringing this growth to Netnod and our members,” the CEO concluded.

[Source – SEACOM]