International connectivity services provider BICS has set up a point-of-presence (POP) in Johannesburg to boost its internet traffic exchange in Africa and lower latency.

The Johannesburg BICS POP is located in facilities provided by South African data centre firm Teraco.

BICS’ Johannesburg POP also follows the company setting up a Dubai POP with provider Equinix in March that covers Northern Africa and the foundation of its East Africa Gateway in Djibouti last year.

BICS, in a statement, further says it has enhanced its investment in Africa last year by opening new offices in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa.

“Africa is a key market for BICS and this agreement further emphasises our commitment to the region by offering market-leading connectivity services to communication providers across the continent,” says BICS SVP for capacity business management, Johan Wouters, in a statement.

Meanwhile, Lex van Wyk, the chief executive officer of Teraco, adds in a statement: “Using infrastructure built on the networks of major carriers in the country, BICS will be able to further enhance its ability to provide high speed interconnection with regional and global carriers.”

BICS is headquartered in Brussels with regional offices in Bern, Dubai, Madrid, New York and Singapore.

The company also has a satellite office in Beijing and local representation in Accra, Cape Town, Miami, Montevideo, Nairobi and Toronto.