Basseterre, St. Kitts (SKNIS): Minister of Information, Communication and Technology, the Honourable Konris Maynard said the launch of the Internet Exchange Point (IXP) on September 12 is expected to bolster the local internet service within the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Minister Maynard made this remark during day four (4) of the 2024 Budget Debate on December 18, where he also explained that St. Kitts and Nevis became the latest country in the region to launch a local Internet Exchange Point.
“The new IXP is expected to help improve internet service in St. Kitts and Nevis by eliminating dependence on international connectivity links for local internet traffic exchange,” the minister said. “Having a local IXP means there is now physical infrastructure in the country where internet service and content providers can come together to interconnect their networks and exchange local traffic…
“It was the culmination of unprecedented collaboration between the government, the Caribbean Network Operators Group (CaribNOG), the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) and local service internet providers in the highly competitive local telecommunications market,” Honourable Maynard added.
He clarified that when a citizen or resident wishes to forward a WhatsApp message within the Federation, the message doesn’t travel to Miami and then back to St. Kitts as was the custom in the past. Instead, it is now routed to the local internet exchange point for forwarding.
IXP also has significant cost saving benefits with the reduction in the need for long-haul connections and leased lines. It also offers greater network redundancy and resilience by providing multiple interconnection points.
Minister Maynard also mentioned that The Cable was the initial telecommunications provider to be completely linked and prepared for pairing with the local IXP.