The African Union Commission (AUC) has helped launch an Internet Exchange Point (IXP) in Swaziland.

In a press statement, the AUC says it has partnered with the Kingdom of Swaziland’s ministry of information, communications and technology and global body the Internet Society (ISOC).

The facility, which was launched last week, is planned to boost the routing of intra-country internet traffic to help increase internet speeds in the country.

As part of a project dubbed the African Internet Exchange System (AXIS), the AUC has so far extended capacity building support to facilitate the establishment of internet exchange points in 24 Member States including Swaziland.

According to the statement, the AUC has thus far donated equipment and services to set up and launch IXPs in Namibia, Burundi and Swaziland.

The total cost of the support extended to realise each internet exchange point is $63,000, say AU officials.

“I find it proper to implore the committee and all the stakeholders to treat this gift from the African Union Commission with utmost attention and care. This is a gift to government, to you stakeholders who are the primary users and to the whole Swazi Nation,” said Dumisani C. Ndlangamandla, Swaziland’s minister of information, communication and technology.

Moctar Yedaly, head of information society division, AUC, said in a statement,“While the launch of the internet exchange point is a welcome and laudable development towards our efforts to reduce cost and inefficiency associated with routing of the continent’s internet traffic through overseas carriers, we are still at the very early stage of harnessing the potential of Internet Exchange Points in Africa.”