The Secretary-General of the Trinidad-based Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), Rodney Taylor, will lead a delegation to the French islands of Guadeloupe, St. Barthélemy, and St. Martin later this week to further discuss the recently launched CaribIX initiative that will result in the establishment of Internet exchange points on the three islands.
The CaribIX project received funding from the INTERREG Caraïbes program, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union. It was formally launched in a virtual ceremony on March 21 and is expected to run until October.
“We are proud to be an integral part of this CARIBIX project, which directly supports the ongoing quest to develop reliable and resilient Internet infrastructure in the Caribbean,” Taylor said.
Through the CaribIX project, the three French islands will have access to expertise from the Caribbean Network Operators Group (CaribNOG) that will conduct strategic consultations in all three territories from April 19 to 28, in order to provide technical guidance on setting up and operating the new Internet exchange points.
“This CaribIX initiative signals a major step forward for the Caribbean Internet landscape. Since 2006, the CTU has been promoting the establishment and operation of Internet exchange points throughout the region. There are now 12 IXPs in the Caribbean and hundreds of others across the world,” the CTU said in a statement.
It said an Internet exchange point is a piece of physical infrastructure that allows network operators to interconnect and exchange traffic locally without having to resort to expensive international routes.
“The new Internet exchange points will help ensure that consumers’ domestic Internet traffic stays on-island. In Saint Barthélemy, for example, that increase in the local routing of network traffic is expected to translate into tangible improvements in network performance, thus improving the experience of the island’s users of Internet and telecommunications services.
“In Saint Martin, the possibility of creating a digital bridge to existing Internet infrastructure in Sint Maarten, will facilitate inter-island traffic exchange. A strengthened domestic network also means extra resilience in the event of a natural disaster such as a hurricane, which can result in the failure of international facilities. “
The CTU Secretary-General will meet with Ary Chalus, President of the Regional Council of Guadeloupe, Xavier Lédée, President of the Collectivité of Saint Barthelemy, and Louis Mussington, President of the Collectivité of Saint Martin.
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