An IXP in Bolivia Steps in to Provide Faster, More Reliable Internet—Just in Time Thumbnail
Internet Exchange Points 11 February 2022

An IXP in Bolivia Steps in to Provide Faster, More Reliable Internet—Just in Time

By Israel NyohFormer Communications and Outreach Manager - Africa

How does an Internet exchange point grow—and what does that mean for the people who depend on it?

When it started in 2013, Bolivia’s Internet exchange point (IXP), PIT Bolivia, exchanged 90 Mbps. Today, the IXP has grown to 13 Gbps.

By increasing speeds and cutting download delays, it’s significantly improving user experience. Before 2021, a download took an average of 600–700 milliseconds. Now it’s 11 milliseconds.

PIT Bolivia isn’t just cutting lag time, it might also make the Internet more affordable. While some smaller Internet providers are currently buying Internet for US$50/Mb, PIT Bolivia plans to charge US$4/Mb.

Internet exchange points make the Internet more resilient—and they’ve become critical during the pandemic. By growing its local IXP, PIT Bolivia helped its community by providing faster, more reliable Internet when people needed it most.

Learn how they did it! Read After Nearly a Decade, Bolivia’s IXP Gets a Boost.

Disclaimer: Viewpoints expressed in this post are those of the author and may or may not reflect official Internet Society positions.

Related articles

Internet Exchange Points 8 November 2023

How Internet Exchange Points are Expanding and Improving Internet Access in Morocco 

If you needed to send a letter to your neighbor, you wouldn’t choose to send it via airmail across...

Internet Exchange Points 22 August 2022

African Peering—Key to Keeping Traffic Local

The African Peering and Interconnection Forum (AfPIF)—Africa's biggest annual peering event— takes place from 23-25 August in Kigali, Rwanda.

Internet Exchange Points 13 July 2022

An Internet Exchange Point Helps Haiti during Natural Disasters

The 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti in August 2021, just as many people were starting their day. Over the...