Submission to the ITU CWG-Internet for the open consultation:
“Elaborate and exemplify on the challenges faced and identified widely accepted best
practices for design, installation and operation of IXPs”
Submission Contents
The Importance of IXPs : ............................................................................................................................... 2
Obstacles to IXP Deployment :...................................................................................................................... 3
Multi-stakeholder Collaboration is Critical: .................................................................................................. 3
ITU and National Administrations Role:........................................................................................................ 4
The State of Qatar Approach for Deploying an IXP: ..................................................................................... 4
The Importance of IXPs :
Internet Exchange Points “IXPs” are among the most critical infrastructure of the Internet. The
Internet is a network of interconnected networks; IXPs are the points at which multiple
networks interconnect. Without IXPs, there would be no Internet, as we are using today.
Currently there are 116 countries with deployed IXPs and only 87 countries without IXPs
(Source: PCH: https://prefix.pch.net/applications/ixpdir/summary/ ). IXPs are rapidly being
deployed currently after its advantages has become clear and evident, IXPs generate two
primary advantages which are lower costs and improved quality of service.
 Cost Advantages :
Currently still many of the developing countries lack IXPs (87 countries according to PCH),
meaning that all inter-ISP traffic (both domestic and foreign-bound) must be exchanged
through exchanges outside the country.
The Absent of a national/domestic IXP will force Internet Service Providers “ISPs” to send all
outbound traffic through its international links, most commonly submarine fiber or satellite.
International links entail both upstream and downstream packet traffic, the costs of which must
be borne by either the sending or the receiving ISP.
Unlike in the telephony world, where ITU-mandated rules require that the costs of international
calls be shared between telecom operators, international Internet connectivity operates
according to the peering/transit dichotomy. ISPs are not subject to the ITU's cost sharing rules;
rather, connectivity costs are allocated according to bilateral contracts, which can generally be
classified as either peering or transit agreements.
 Quality of Service Advantages :
Due to the lack of national wide fiber optic links in many of the developing countries, many ISPs
still use VSAT satellite circuits for international connectivity to upstream ISPs. Satellite
connections introduce significant latency (delay) in the network. More problematic is the reality
that, without an IXP, even domestic traffic must be exchanged internationally
Even in the case of availability of fiber connections still the length of transatlantic cables
introduces needless (though much smaller than the satellite connection) latency in the
connection.
Significant network latency translates into extremely slow connections for users, putting
a tremendous range of Internet services out of practical reach. Local Internet business and
content providers find themselves at an inherent disadvantage serving their local or
international internet customers.
Forcing the international interconnection of locally hosted services and content is a major
obstacle to the development of domestic Internet-based business. This is leading to migration
of ecommerce, content providers and local business web hosting to be migrated to the United
States or Europe due to cost reasons.
An IXP slashes network latency by eliminating the need for international interconnection for a
domestic-bound traffic. The result is that more customers use domestic Internet services,
increasing local demand for bandwidth and prompting a cycle in which ever more
bandwidth is dedicated to local interconnection. Since domestic bandwidth is always cheaper
than international bandwidth, the quality of services and business cases for domestic Internet
enterprises improve dramatically – not just for telecom operators and ISPs, but for online
banking, e-commerce sites, online government, enterprise VPNs, content hosting, web services,
etc.
Obstacles to IXP Deployment:
As the IXP objective is to enable the domestic exchange of domestic Internet traffic, this
requires the organization and deployment of a neutral local Internet exchange points with the
participation of the main stakeholders in the local internet community ( e.g. Telecom operators,
Government entities, content providers, …etc.).
The obstacles to achieving this objective will vary from country to country, but the most
common is the strong resistance by the current telecom operators and providers of
international leased-line, submarine cable, or regulated VSAT connectivity.
In addition to the fear of effective competition, the telecom will generally fail to appreciate that
reducing the cost of Internet connectivity for domestic internet users will generate vastly
greater more investment, enable local business to grow, add more users, and actually greater
international leased line revenues.
Telecom Regulators need to remove any regulatory regimes or frameworks which might
prevent the deployment of IXPs (e.g. extreme licensing conditions, …etc.). In most of the cases,
the regulatory authority can facilitate the establishment of an IXP by inviting all the interested
stakeholders to be part of the IXP.
Multi-stakeholder Collaboration is Critical:
In the State of Qatar we are planning to adopt a strategy to support the deployment of IXPs which
consists of three elements:
(1) Organizing awareness sessions/workshops for the stakeholders involved, the targeted stakeholders
are government organizations, academia, telecom operators and ISP executives, technical experts, and
others, to examine the Regulatory, political, and technical issues surrounding IXP deployment;
(2) Assisting neutral nonprofit associations in their efforts to establish IXPs (e.g. Universities Network,
National Libraries,etc.)
(3) Facilitate the removal of any legal/regulatory/policy obstacles to the deployment of IXPs
ITU and National Administrations Role:
The State of Qatar would like to commend the ITU efforts in focusing on IXPs and its important role for
the internet services development in the developing world. The ITU should continue its supporting role
for national administrations in planning and establishing national IXPs.
The Telecom Regulatory and ICT Government organization has an increasing role in facilitating the
establishment of an IXP, the telecom regulator can incentivize the telecom operators to be engaged in
the efforts of establishing and managing a national IXP.
The ITU should recommend the mandatory implementation in all member states, although the number
of established IXPs in the developing and developed countries has rapidly increased in the last few years
but still a political push from ITU will expedite the deployment of IXPs in the developing countries
especially in Africa and parts of Asia.
ITU should cooperate with the global technical community, for example the Internet Society, its
supporting the deployment of IXPs in the developing countries (http://www.ixptoolkit.org/).
The State of Qatar Approach for Deploying an IXP:
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and The communications Regulatory
Authority have teamed up to work together towards deploying an IXP in Qatar hopefully soon, we will
play a facilitator role in initiating the discussion between the internet stakeholders.
We believe that the multi-stakeholders approach is the best model to use in deploying an IXP; It will
ensure the engagement and the support of all the stakeholders involved. The ministry “MICT” and the
regulator “CRA” will support the stakeholders involved in formulating the IXP governance and business
model for the IXP.
We will be able to share our experience and its outcomes more in depth in the near future.