By Martin Ekpeke
In a move set to transform the country’s digital landscape, the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) has announced an ambitious plan to establish additional Points of Presence (POPs) across various states. The initiative aims to decentralize internet infrastructure, supporting smaller and emerging service providers while further domesticating Nigeria’s data traffic.
Muhammed Rudman, MD/CEO of IXPN, unveiled the roadmap in the organization’s Q4 2025 newsletter, highlighting a year of explosive growth that saw domestic internet traffic grow exponentially in just a few months.
The 2025 review detailed a significant scaling of Nigeria’s internet capacity as key global content and cloud providers upgraded their local infrastructure to meet rising demand. The Google Global Cache was upgraded from 53Gbps to 153Gbps, while Netflix doubled its Lagos-based server capacity from 45Gbps to 90Gbps. Additionally, the Microsoft Connected Cache increased from 25Gbps to approximately 75Gbps.
To support this surge, IXPN deployed a new DWDM system between Digital Realty and Rack Centre, raising inter-site capacity to 500Gbps. The organization also established a new POP at Digital Hub Datacentres (DDC) and upgraded the link between Digital Realty and MDXi to 500Gbps, ensuring higher performance and better redundancy for its members.
Also, IXPN welcomed 17 new networks in 2025, including international giants such as Tencent, CSquared, and ZScalar, bringing its total membership to 130.
A major highlight of the year was Nigeria’s growing role as a continental hub. IXPN partnered with Rack Centre to host the first African Peering and Interconnection Forum (AfPIF) in Lagos, an event that drew over 600 global participants.
“This milestone reflects IXPN’s rapid growth and underscores our dedication to advancing Africa’s internet infrastructure. We are now engaging with major content networks not yet present in Nigeria to encourage local peering and further enhance traffic speeds for users,” Rudman stated.
Beyond hardware, IXPN focused on technical resilience and skills by deploying the CIRA Authoritative DNS to improve local response times for popular domains such as .org, .info, .ai, and .io. The organization also prioritized capacity building by hosting specialized Cisco (CCNA) and BGP-peering training sessions to develop local network expertise. Furthermore, IXPN introduced Peer-to-Peer Traffic Graphing to provide its members with deeper visibility and insights into traffic flows across the network.
Looking Ahead
To share the 2026 service roadmap and unveil new business opportunities, IXPN will host its annual Members’ Engagement Forum (MEF) on Thursday, February 19, 2026, at the Lagos Continental Hotel. The event will include live streaming to ensure inclusive participation from stakeholders nationwide.