Qatar has gone live with its first internet exchange to improve its global connectivity ahead of the 2022 Fifa World Cup.
Launched by the country’s Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA), the Qatar Internet Exchange Point (QIXP) is established in MEEZA’s data centre in Doha, and will enable local networks to exchange information efficiently at a common point within the country, instead of exchanging the local information outside it.
This helps ensure that internet users in Qatar have faster and more secure access to digital content as MEEZA is a local IT solutions provider.
QIXP is deemed of strategic importance in terms of information security and internet infrastructure stability and sustainability in Qatar, and for supporting major events such as the World Cup in 2022, said Qatar’s government.
Abdulla Jassmi, Technical Affairs Department Manager for the CRA and QIXP Committee Chairman, said: “The committee will continue to work as a team to follow up on the progress of QIXP, in order to meet the market requirements of providing advanced and innovative services to contribute to achieving the goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030.”
Other internet exchange points are set to be activated during 2020, by using the existing data centres of telecom service providers, the government said.
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