Internet users in theFrench Caribbean could soon be enjoyingbetter, more resilient Internet services.
Internet stakeholders from the French Caribbean met in Guadeloupe this month for a workshop on Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), facilitated by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU)and Packet Clearing House (PCH). It was the first such gathering ofFrench-speaking Caribbean representatives, focused on bettering the Internet in those countries.
Participants from Guadeloupe, Martinique, St Martin, St Barthélemy and French Guianadiscussed the need to establish in-countrycritical telecommunications and Internet infrastructure, starting withIXPs, as a catalyst for Internet-based economic activity in the sub-region.
“A local IXPallows Internet service providers to connect their networks and keep domestic Internet traffic within the nation’s borders instead of sending it across expensive international links as currently obtains,” said Bevil Wooding, an Internet Strategist at PCH.
Wooding and Gaël Hernández, two PCH experts present for the one-day CaribIX workshop, covered IXP principles, benefits and governance requirements. Their audience included representatives from local government, academia, media and chambers of commerce, and ISPs. The workshop also included panel discussions to identify opportunities for cooperation and integration between French Caribbean ISPs and with the wider region.
“ISPs and consumers benefit from the domestic Internet traffic exchange that IXPs facilitate,” Hernández said. “We are pleased that the ISPs in the French Caribbean are putting things in place to ensure that their networks and their customers can benefit from this proven international practice.”
Among the ISPs present were Digicel, Telem Group, Global Caribbean Network, Orange and Dauphin Telecoms.
“Internet exchange points are especially relevant to the French Caribbean when one considers the benefits they can bring in terms of network resilience, traffic routing efficiency and data security,” said Eve Riboud, general manager of Dauphin Telecoms, an ISP operating in four territories.
The meeting, called CaribIX, signalled a move by the French Caribbean to reach out to the English-speaking Caribbean as a model for regional Internet development.The Internet has the potential to close geopolitical gaps that have historically divided the Caribbean, and CaribIX is being hailed as an important step in that direction. The CTU was singled out for praise for their role in supporting the French Caribbean initiative.
“The CTU sees its support of Caribbean Internet Exchange Point proliferation as consistent with its wider mandate to assist in the public awareness, capacity building and the creation of a single ICT space,” said Bernadette Lewis, Secretary General of the CTU, a regional inter-governmental body that promotes Internet development in the Caribbean.
As part of its ongoing efforts, the CTU is partnering with the Caribbean Network Operators Group (CaribNOG) to host the region’s first Caribbean Peering and Interconnection Forum in Barbados from May 27 to 28. The event will bring together Internet exchange point operators from across the Caribbean alongside regional and international content providers such as Google and Akamai.