Nokia and INX-ZA future-proof internet connectivity for South Africa’s digital communities

Press Release

Nokia and INX-ZA future-proof internet connectivity for South Africa’s digital communities

• End users gain access to high-capacity, high-availability internet exchange services
• INX-ZA unlocks 400GE-ready peering infrastructure, enhancing service reach and performance
• Nokia's IP networking solution supports scalable, next-generation internet exchange architecture
  
  
  
  

21 August 2025

Johannesburg, South Africa – Nokia has been selected by INX-ZA, the Internet Exchange Point division of the Internet Service Provider Association (ISPA), to modernize its exchange infrastructure. INX-ZA will deploy Nokia’s high performance IP routing portfolio to offer new 400GE and expanded 100GE services to its customers across the country. As a result, businesses and internet users can now experience faster, more resilient, and future-ready Internet connectivity in South Africa.

Internet exchanges are a critical component of the digital ecosystem, enabling data to be exchanged locally and reducing dependency on expensive international bandwidth. Yet many IXPs across Africa still operate on aging platforms that lack scalability and efficiency. INX-ZA’s shift to Nokia’s solution addresses these limitations head-on, opening the door to more energy-efficient, scalable and high-density infrastructure that can evolve alongside the region’s digital ambitions.

Nokia will upgrade INX-ZA’s Internet Exchange Points in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban, beginning with Johannesburg – home to JINX, Africa’s oldest Internet Exchange Point, which has achieved 100% uptime since its launch in 1996. Together, Nokia and INX-ZA will expand JINX from seven to ten data centers by year-end, deploying thirty high-performance platforms in phase one to preserve its industry-leading availability while extending its reach.

The deployment, powered by Nokia’s high-capacity 7250 Interconnect Routers and Service Router Operating System (SR OS), enables INX-ZA to offer new 400GE and expanded 100GE services for peering partners and Internet service providers (ISPs) – a capability not previously available in the region. In addition, it will augment the scale and performance of INX-ZA’s backbone to connect to different points of presence (POPs) with 400GE links.

This initiative lays the foundation for similar transformations across the continent’s legacy exchange points. It is a major step towards more efficient, flexible, and high-performance network infrastructure for South African ISPs, cloud providers, and enterprises.

“Upgrading to Nokia’s 400GE-ready infrastructure isn’t just about adding capacity – it’s about reimagining how South Africa connects. With this modern, energy-efficient platform, INX-ZA can deliver faster, more reliable, and more sustainable interconnection services while maintaining the uptime and performance our community has come to expect of us. Nokia’s technology gives us the scale and capability to keep our exchanges at the forefront of global standards and power the country’s digital economy for the future,” said Nishal Goburdhan, INX-ZA’s General Manager.

“As people are consuming and producing more content and businesses are moving their loads to the cloud, Internet Exchanges are an essential and critical part of digital infrastructure. Working with customers like INX-ZA, which is deeply committed to technical excellence and community enablement, is aligning to our belief in delivering resilient, sustainable and scalable trusted infrastructure in South Africa. Our platforms offer the flexibility and openness needed to meet today’s interconnection demands while paving the way for future innovation with SR Linux and automation,” said Toni Pellegrino, Head of South and East Africa Sales Unit, Network Infrastructure, Nokia.

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About Nokia

At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, which is celebrating 100 years of innovation.

With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future.

About INX-ZA

INX-ZA is the Internet Exchange Point division of the Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) and operates Africa’s longest-running community-run Internet exchange points since 1996. With a strong focus on technical excellence, neutrality, and community development, INX-ZA plays a pivotal role in strengthening South Africa’s Internet infrastructure and enabling a more resilient and accessible digital ecosystem.

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