ACIX Expands Into Second Kinshasa Facility as DRC Builds Local Internet Routing Capacity
The additional Kinshasa deployment gives operators another place to exchange traffic locally instead of sending more data through international routes
Internet traffic inside the Democratic Republic of the Congo will now move through multiple exchange locations in Kinshasa after the Africa Congo Internet Exchange extended operations into another data center facility, widening the country’s domestic interconnection capacity at a time when African operators are under pressure to keep more data within regional networks.
The expansion brings ACIX infrastructure into the OADC Texaf FIH1 campus in Kinshasa. The project involves DE-CIX, Kinshasa-based connectivity provider UNITED S.A. and the non-profit Internet pour tous, which coordinates the broader exchange initiative in the country.
With the additional deployment, ACIX becomes the first internet exchange platform in the DRC to operate across separate facilities rather than from a single physical site. That setup changes the underlying resilience model for participating networks. If one location experiences disruption, operators connected through another facility can continue exchanging traffic locally.
The exchange was established in 2023 to provide a neutral meeting point for telecom companies, internet providers, mobile operators, banks, cloud firms, academic networks and international carriers moving traffic across Central Africa. DE-CIX manages the platform through its outsourced exchange operations program, which handles technical deployment and ongoing exchange administration for local partners.
For network operators, the value is less about visibility and more about path efficiency. Locally exchanged traffic avoids unnecessary international routing, reducing transit dependency and improving response times for services that rely on stable low-latency connections, including cloud software, digital payments, video delivery and enterprise applications.
Hussein Ibrahim, chief executive at UNITED S.A., described interconnection infrastructure as a long-term requirement for regional digital growth.
“ACIX is more than an Internet Exchange; it is foundational digital infrastructure for the future of Central Africa.”
The development also reflects a wider infrastructure pattern across African telecom markets, where data center operators and exchange providers are trying to pull traffic closer to domestic users instead of relying heavily on European transit routes.
Open Access Data Centres, which operates the Kinshasa facility hosting the new exchange presence, said carrier-neutral environments are becoming increasingly important as operators seek equal access to interconnection infrastructure without routing control being concentrated under a single network owner.
Kinshasa’s geographic position gives the exchange additional regional relevance. The city sits between heavily populated sections of eastern and western Africa, creating an opportunity for networks operating across equatorial Africa to exchange traffic through a more localized corridor.
DE-CIX said the additional deployment is expected to widen participation at the exchange by making interconnection available from another major facility inside the Congolese capital.
Go to TECHTRENDSKE.co.ke for more tech and business news from the African continent and across the world.
Follow us on WhatsApp, Telegram, Twitter, and Facebook, or subscribe to our weekly newsletter to ensure you don’t miss out on any future updates. Send tips to editorial@techtrendsmedia.co.ke
