The recent establishment of an Internet exchange point (IXP) in T&T is a necessary step in strengthening the country's local Internet economy. But it is not enough, says Bevil Wooding, Internet Strategist with Packet Clearing House (PCH).
"The launch of the local internet exchange point, TTIX, is definitely a positive step for internet users and in the development of the T&T internet economy. However, the launch of an IX is not enough to guarantee its success," Wooding said, speaking with the T&T Guardian after taking part in a panel discussion on IXPs as part of the Internet Society's (ISOC) INET TT Forum, hosted by the Telecommunications Authority (TATT) on October 8 and 9.
"Now that the task of getting the local IX up and running is over, focus must shift immediately to the development of local applications and content to take advantage of the availability of a local exchange point."PCH has been involved the development of more than two-thirds of the world's IXPs, and Wooding has been actively involved in IXP deployments across the region.
To be truly successful, he said, exchange points have to have a clear plan for attracting local and international content providers and encouraging local Internet innovation to take advantage of the local exchange."Deliberate steps must now be taken to encourage local organisations to build local apps, create local content and deploy local services.
"A new set of local stakeholders must now be mobilised to steward the process of translating the promise of a local IX into the reality of a local Internet economy."The four-member INET TT panel discussion highlighted the urgent need for significant upgrades to critical Internet infrastructure across the region.
It included Internet Society (ISOC) representatives Jane Coffin and Christian O'Flaherty, who emphasised the importance of IXPs globally in improving the resilience, efficiency and security of local networks.Setting up an IXP is not technically difficult and is not necessarily costly, Coffin said, but it does require collaboration and cooperation, at times among parties who are otherwise competing in the same market.
In the audience were dozens of regional and local technology experts gathered at the TATT office in Barataria for the two-day forum, which was also broadcast globally to a live streaming audience online.Called INET TT, the event brought together private sector representatives, government officials, academic researchers and members of the local and international technical community.
Present were delegates from the regional Internet registry for Latin America and the Caribbean (LACNIC), the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) and the T&T Network Information Centre (TTNIC).