Here’s some good news for a Friday afternoon – South African users of the internet can anticipate better connectivity, in the wake of an announcement by Internet Solutions that it is revising its peering policy.

The Internet Service provider explained that it will become more open and actively engage in peering  and implement several changes to promote better interconnection.

Peering is broadly defined as two Internet Service Providers connecting to exchange traffic directly with each other to benefit each other’s networks. The advantages of a more open peering policy mean that local traffic will be served more directly to end users of the service. Additionally, it means that the amount of traffic that needs to leave South Africa so as to access local content is reduced. For users, this boils down to a better online experience

“By becoming more open and actively engaging in peering, we are creating numerous opportunities that will result in improved user experience by adding resiliency, keeping traffic localised and driving the cost of Internet connectivity down,” says Kervin Pillay, chief technology officer at Internet Solutions.

He continued that an open peering policy will allow established network providers to peer with IS that were previously unable to do so. As well, according to the company, the move is set to make it simpler for Content Delivery Network (CDN) providers to peer with the company.

“By making this change, we believe that we will provide more opportunities for our clients and other established networks in the country.” concludes Pillay.