Follow Us on Google
…Seeks rollout of 100 autonomous networks
By Chinenye Anuforo
The Chief Executive Officer of the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), Muhammed Rudman, has raised concerns over structural weaknesses in the country’s internet ecosystem, warning that the digital economy risks falling behind without urgent reforms to boost local hosting, network diversity and autonomous system growth.
Speaking at a recent industry forum attended by journalists and stakeholders, Rudman traced the historical evolution of the Internet from its 1969 origins as a university-based network for sharing supercomputers, through the introduction of IP networks in 1983 and the Domain Name System (DNS), to today’s interconnected global infrastructure.
“The word Internet stands for inter-network, different networks coming together,” he said and explained that the physical facilities where such interconnections occur are known as Internet Exchange Points (IXPs).
Rudman disclosed that Nigeria has recorded significant gains in traffic localisation since IXPN commenced operations. From just 0.1 per cent of local traffic at inception, Internet traffic exchange within Nigeria has grown substantially.
“When Google connected to us in 2011, traffic surged. By 2015, we were at four gigabits per second. By 2020, it grew to 200 gigabits. As of December last year, we reached two terabits, a 500 per cent growth within four years,” he said.
He noted that between 60 and 70 per cent of the country’s internet traffic is now domesticated, largely driven by global content giants such as Google, Meta, TikTok, Microsoft and Amazon, which are interconnected locally.
However, he lamented that much of indigenous digital content remains hosted outside the country.
Citing data from the Internet Society Pulse report, Rudman said only about two per cent of the top 1,000 websites accessed by Nigerians are hosted locally.
“Even major Nigerian platforms and media organisations are hosting abroad, despite their audience being largely domestic,” he said.
The thrust of Rudman’s presentation was the issue of Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs) unique identifiers assigned to networks connected to the global Internet.
ASNs in Africa are allocated by AFRINIC under the global oversight of ICANN.
He explained that ASNs allow networks autonomy in routing traffic and are critical indicators of ecosystem maturity.
While the United States has 91 ASNs per one million people and Brazil has 43, Nigeria has only one ASN per one million people.
“This shows very low diversity in our network ecosystem,” he said.
Out of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, only nine states have at least three ASNs. Lagos leads with 171, followed by Abuja with 50 and Rivers with nine. Fifteen states have none at all.
“In states like Gombe, with about three million people, there is no single independent Internet service provider outside the mobile operators,” Rudman revealed.
He attributed Nigeria’s poor ranking in service provider diversity to the overwhelming dominance of mobile network operators.
“About 99.9 per cent of Internet users in Nigeria rely on mobile network operators. All wired, wireless and satellite providers combined account for less than one per cent,” he said.
This concentration, he warned, limits competition, keeps broadband costs high and restricts innovation, particularly in underserved regions.
Rudman identified multiple structural barriers discouraging new entrants, including high licensing and regulatory approval processes across states, excessive right-of-way charges and expensive transmission capacity.
“In some cases, transmission capacity from Lagos to Ibadan is more expensive than from Lagos to London,” he disclosed, describing the situation as a major deterrent to regional connectivity.
He also pointed to skill gaps in network engineering and configuration, especially in universities and government institutions, many of which depend entirely on third-party service providers.
Additionally, he cited the $2,000 ASN and IP resource fee charged by AFRINIC as a financial barrier for smaller operators.
To address the challenge, Rudman proposed a multi-stakeholder approach involving regulators, media, data centres and regional Internet registries.
He urged the Nigerian Communications Commission to consider micro-licensing models for smaller service providers and reduce entry barriers.
He also advocated negotiations with AFRINIC to lower ASN fees and called for incentives to encourage local hosting among Nigeria’s top 100 to 200 high-traffic websites.
“There is a clear correlation between the number of autonomous systems in a country and broadband affordability,” he said. “The more networks you have, the more competition, and the lower the cost.”
Rudman disclosed that IXPN and Africa Hyperscale are exploring an initiative to onboard 100 new autonomous system numbers in Nigeria within the year.
“With our population and digital ambition, Nigeria cannot afford to have this level of network underdevelopment. We must collaborate with regulators, the private sector, the media and the technical community to build a more resilient and competitive Internet ecosystem,” he said.
