The Kenya Internet Exchange Point (KIXP) is now recording an average of 1.2Gbps in bandwidth exchange compared to 900Kbps ten years ago.

The KIXP is now known as the biggest internet exchange in East Africa, providing the necessary speed required to access content in the region.

The KIXP has recorded various entities locally now using their services, including, mobile operators, network infrastructure operators, banks, academic and research networks, security experts, media houses and government Institutions such as the Kenya Revenue Authority.

"At 13 years old, the KIXP now has 30 peering members across Telco's, corporate and independent ISPs, making it one of the largest internet exchanges in Sub Saharan Africa. It has saved telcos millions of money while simultaneously speeding local data exchange, and encouraging the development of locally hosted content and services," reads a statement from Telecommunications Service Providers Association of Kenya (TESPOK), the body who manages the exchange.

The organisation has indicated the economic benefits resulting from the local exchange point.

"The presence of an effective KIXP induced Google to place a cache in Kenya, which has significantly increased the amount of locally distributed content (notably YouTube videos) at faster speeds. Improved access to local content has led to increased usage, subsequently helping to increase the mobile data market by at least US$6m per year in Kenya," TESPOK said.

A report by Internet Society showed that local hosting options could spur the uptake of internet access across Africa due to the cheap access to content.

The report Local Internet Hosting Opportunities Key to Furthering Internet Development in Africa showcased content users who saved $111 per year by hosting overseas, while it cost Rwandan ISPs approximately $13,500 in transit costs to deliver the content from abroad to local users.

TESPOK asked those companies who have not routed their traffic through the KIXP to do so and reap benefits of low latency in access of content.