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Nigeria’s growing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, fintech, streaming, and other digital services is putting fresh pressure on the country’s internet infrastructure, with industry stakeholders calling for stronger interconnection, network resilience, and technical capacity to support the next phase of the digital economy.
The challenge is coming into sharper focus as the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) marks 20 years of building the country’s internet infrastructure and facilitating local exchange of internet traffic.
Established in 2006 as a neutral platform for internet service providers, telecommunications operators, content providers, data centres and other network operators to exchange internet traffic locally, IXPN said the next phase of Nigeria’s internet development would require deeper collaboration and investment in infrastructure and human capacity.
The organisation is marking its 20th anniversary with a month-long programme themed “20 Years of Building Nigeria’s Internet”, focusing on internet interconnection, technical skills, IPv6, inclusion, network resilience and the future of Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.
The development comes at a time when businesses, financial institutions, government agencies and consumers are increasingly dependent on digital platforms and internet-based services.
AI applications, cloud platforms, video streaming, digital payments and other data-intensive services require reliable and resilient connectivity. As their use expands, weaknesses in the underlying infrastructure can affect the speed, reliability and cost of digital services.
Chief executive officer of IXPN, Muhammed Rudman, said Nigeria must look beyond the progress made over the past two decades and focus on the infrastructure and skills required for the future.
“IXPN@20 is more than a celebration of an organisation. It is an opportunity to recognise the people, institutions and partnerships that have contributed to the development of internet interconnection in Nigeria over the past two decades, while preparing the next generation to take Nigeria’s internet forward,” Rudman said.
He said IXPN had grown from a relatively small interconnection initiative in 2006 into an important component of Nigeria’s internet infrastructure.
According to him, the next 20 years must focus on strengthening resilience, expanding interconnection, developing technical capacity and bringing more networks and institutions into the ecosystem.
A major part of the anniversary programme will therefore focus on developing the technical workforce required to support Nigeria’s expanding internet infrastructure.
The Student Internet Infrastructure Discovery Programme will bring together about 100 students from universities and other tertiary institutions offering ICT-related programmes across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
The students will be exposed to internet exchange, network operations, internet service providers, data centres and the evolution of Nigeria’s internet ecosystem.
The programme will also include visits to data centres, including Open Access Data Centres, Rack Centre and Digital Realty, as well as discussions on internships and careers in internet infrastructure.
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IXPN, in collaboration with the Nigeria IPv6 Council and AFRINIC, will also organise an IPv6 capacity-building programme for network operators, engineers, universities and other technical stakeholders.
IPv6 is important to the continued expansion of the internet because it provides a much larger pool of internet addresses and supports the growth of connected devices and networks.
The anniversary programme will also examine how stronger local interconnection can support the delivery of digital services in Nigeria.
Through the Nigeria Peering and Interconnection Forum, network operators, content providers, data centres, regulators and other stakeholders will discuss peering, routing, interconnection, network resilience and local content delivery.
For Nigeria’s digital economy, the issue extends beyond connectivity. The growth of cloud computing and AI is increasing the importance of data centres, reliable networks and efficient pathways for data to move between users, businesses and digital platforms.
Industry collaboration will therefore remain important as demand for digital services grows.
IXPN is also placing emphasis on inclusion, with the IXPN@20 Women in Internet Infrastructure Forum designed to encourage more women to pursue careers in technical areas such as network engineering, data centres, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, DNS and IPv6.
The organisation will also produce a documentary and institutional archive documenting two decades of Nigeria’s internet development, with contributions from founders, former leaders, early members, technical professionals, regulators and other stakeholders.
The anniversary programme will culminate in the IXPN@20 Grand Gala Dinner and Excellence and Legacy Awards on 30 October 2026 in Lagos.
The event will bring together stakeholders from government, telecommunications, internet service provision, data centres, academia, the technical community and the wider digital economy.
For Rudman, the anniversary is ultimately about what comes next.
“The first 20 years were about establishing the exchange, building trust among networks and demonstrating the value of local interconnection,” he said.
“The next 20 years must be about extending that value even further, strengthening resilience, expanding interconnection, developing technical capacity, bringing more networks and institutions into the ecosystem, and ensuring that Nigeria is well positioned for the next phase of the digital economy.”
