Buffering to view international video content on the web in Africa could soon be a thing of the past, according to officials.

South African company Teraco Data Environments has announced that it has partnered with telecoms operator Vox Telecom to help Akamai Technologies enter the African market.

Global firm Akamai Technologies specialises in cloud systems for media and content delivery, application performance, and web security. Akamai further helps deliver secure high-performing user experiences on any device.

Officials have revealed that the partnership is planned to benefit end users by providing faster and more accessible downloads of important content.

By leveraging the Vox Telecom carrier network and by being hosted in the most connected data centre on the continent, Akamai could then be in a position to deliver international content to local consumers at improved high end speed, reads a company statement.

The Akamai node and infrastructure is planned to be set up in a Teraco data centre and connected to NAPAfrica in Johannesburg, it continued.

NAPAfrica is a neutral layer two internet exchange point located within each Teraco data centre facility in South Africa. An IX (internet exchange) or IXP (internet exchange point) allows service providers to connect directly rather than through one or more third-party networks. A key advantage to such infrastructure includes shorter paths to content delivery networks (CDNs), thanks to factors such as improved latency and bandwidth.

Lex van Wyk, chief executive officer of Teraco Data Centre Environments said, “With Akamai gearing-up through NAPAfrica and Vox Telecom, the internet market can now look forward to excellent improvements and benefits.”

He explained, “The addition of international content providers to NAPAfrica means that end users will be able to view video content without endless buffering, access international gaming platforms with a substantially quicker response and download software in a fraction of the time we have become accustomed to.”

“It’s clear that international content providers choose to peer with NAPAfrica to create a larger diverse marketplace. The recent infrastructure partnership between Akamai, Teraco and Vox Telecoms is an example of the internet industry wanting to work together for the benefit of all”, concluded van Wyk.