The Public Association “Kyrgyz Chapter of the Internet Society” launches one of its first and most ambitious projects, the Internet Traffic Exchange Point of the Ferghana Valley.
The project was made possible by a grant from Beyond the Net, the Internet Society. The Ferghana Valley Internet Traffic Exchange Point Project (FVIXP) is the installation of an internet traffic exchange point (IXP) in the city of Osh, in southern Kyrgyzstan, which will significantly reduce the cost and speed up the Internet for all residents of the Fergana Valley.
The equipment of the Internet Traffic Exchange Point of the Fergana Valley is installed and works in Kyrgyztelecom Osh city. All Internet providers operating in the city of Osh can connect to the internet traffic exchange point. The first participant to join was UniLink LLC. Connecting to an Internet traffic exchange point allows you to establish peer-to-peer interaction between participants with lower costs and greater efficiency regarding the organization of pairwise physical joints. The effectiveness of IXP increases with the number of connected participants.
According to ITU 2014, Central Asia has one of the lowest Internet penetration levels in Europe and Asia. In regional terms, Internet prices for residents of the Fergana Valley are higher than for residents of other administrative districts. For example, Internet tariffs in southern cities are 5 times higher (13USD) for the same capacity as in Bishkek, located in the north of Kyrgyzstan. Tajikistan, which primarily depends on Kyrgyzstan, has an even more serious situation. The national Internet service provider Tojnet provides an unlimited tariff of 1Mb for $ 45. The situation in Uzbekistan is even worse. Uzbekistan’s exclusive Internet provider provides Internet in cities located in the Fergana Valley, at a price of $ 59 for 10 GB of daily Internet and unlimited night traffic.
Considering the aforementioned situation, the Internet traffic exchange point in the valley will remove barriers to connection and will stimulate improved access.
Fergana Valley IXP (FVIXP) will adhere to the principles of openness and neutrality, ensuring equal access to infrastructure for all stakeholders, including government agencies, educational and health institutions, as well as commercial banks. IXP will help local small and medium-sized providers to reduce costs for traffic, and will allow you to spend more on infrastructure than on the purchase of Internet traffic.
There are two IXPs in the north of Kyrgyzstan. The old IXP is closed to new members and therefore new ISPs cannot join. The second IXP is open, but also located in the city of Bishkek.
In the case of line breaks due to farmers, communication is lost throughout the region. Subscribers cannot forward messages to each other. Millions of subscribers remain waiting for the repair of communication on the line.
Any message that is generated by users comes to the data exchange center in Bishkek and returns to Osh again. This is a millisecond, but not very logical and costly process. Thus, the lines between Bishkek and Osh become overloaded.
At the same time, many Bishkek Internet providers can not profit from developing the Internet infrastructure in the regions, including the southern regions.
FVIXP opens up possibilities for building a digital silk road. Taking into account the connection of the junction with China, new junctions with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Osh is becoming a key city in the development of digital infrastructure.
Creating an IXP would greatly enhance the value of the regional economy. According to Terabit Consulting, “Improving ICT infrastructure produces: an increase in demand for products from other industries (demand multiplier), new production opportunities in other industries (supply multiplier), new products and services for consumers (final demand), increased innovative capabilities of firms and increase the likelihood of new products, innovations and organizations. “
