• NAPAfrica says traffic for February peaked at 5Tbps.
• This is indicative of a growing appetite for digital services in South Africa and across the continent.
• NAPAfrica provides direct interconnects to over 655 networks including ISPs, CDNs and enterprise networks.

Operator of internet exchange (IX) points in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, NAPAfrica, has recorded an impressive internet traffic milestone. Last month, NAPAfrica measured traffic through its exchanges at a rate of 5 terabits per second (Tbps).

NAPAfrica’s internet exchange points are located within Teraco data centers and provide direct interconnects to more than 655 networks. This includes connections to internet service providers, content distribution networks and enterprise networks. This includes hosting Netflix Open Connect in both Cape Town and Durban. In simple terms, this means South African viewers aren’t stuck waiting for content to buffer as traffic to the platform is localised.

Traffic reaching 5Tbps is impressive when one considers that just nine years ago in 2016, traffic peaked at 100Gbps. By 2023 traffic had reached 4Tbps and two years later we’re now recording traffic throughput of 5Tbps.

This growth is attributed to several factors, predominantly the rise in connectivity. With mobile broadband and fibre access growing steadily, there is greater demand for digital services and NAPAfrica is primed to facilitate that demand.

Importantly though, Africans don’t just want connectivity, they want fast, responsive connectivity. This means peering at local data centres is more important than ever.

“Most of Africa’s internet traffic was traditionally routed through Europe, increasing latency and costs. NAPAfrica has helped keep African traffic within the continent, leading to improved performance for ISPs, mobile operators, and enterprises, while fostering a more self-sufficient African internet ecosystem,” explains NAPAfrica.

This move to keep African traffic in Africa is also incredibly important for data sovereignty. South Africa has been moving toward maintaining control over data produced in the country in both a legislative and technical sense. Major cloud providers including Google, Microsoft and AWS have established data centers locally as demand for locally hosted cloud solutions has grown.

To cater to the growing demands of consumers, businesses and content providers, NAPAfrica recently began offering 400Gbps interconnects.

“As Africa’s digital landscape continues to evolve, NAPAfrica remains at the forefront of connectivity, providing the infrastructure necessary to support Africa’s digital transformation. With continued growth and expansion, the exchange is set to play an even more significant role in shaping the future of the African internet economy,” the company said in a statement.