19th September, 2006 Press Release For Immediate Release (Contact; Eric M.K Osiakwan =96 eric@afrispa.org, +233.244.386792) BIG DISH SELECTED AS THIRD REGIONAL CARRIER BY AfrISPA Big Dish have also been selected by the African ISP association, AfrISPA, i= n response to its Request for Service for data transport between the different ISP members of= local Internet Exchange Points. Big Dish Ltd, a new satellite provider incorporated in Mau= ritius has joined the two earlier bidders that successfully met the Request For Service (RFS)= criteria to provide an African Regional Internet Traffic solution. The peering point design can= be extended to allow additional Internet Exchanges to join the network with ease at any ti= me in the future.? ? AfrISPA wants to establish true inter-country connectivity within the Afric= an continent, to remove the current dependence upon overseas carriers and to promote the est= ablishment and growth of African regional data carriers. The establishment of a networ= k of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) within Africa would also result in reduced costs, im= proved speeds and the improvement of the Internet backbone within Africa as a whole.? ? Big Dish has implemented a project that will revolutionise Internet access = in Africa by breaking the current paradigm of Interconnection charges. This is achieved= by buying substantial amounts of bandwidth where it is inexpensive, and delivering it= via a leased Teleport and bulk space segment. This yields the capacity to deliver bandw= idth via 5 satellites to any corner of Africa, using VSATs and proprietary modem= s. This project can help ISPs in the African market who are currently struggli= ng with high interconnection charges. Simultaneously, the Big Dish network can bec= ome a regional transit and interconnection provider. The project is being used = to easily realize the dream of establishing a Pan African Virtual Internet Exchange (PAVIX) by se= lling transit at each IXP and offering interconnection between all African IXPs. According to Matthew Rudd who is the CEO of Big Dish, =93Big Dish can lever= age its inexpensive bandwidth, burst capabilities and thousands of square feet of r= ack space into a Point to Multipoint configuration. We can connect every national IXP to ea= ch other, and thus exceed the requirements of the original RFS.=94 About AfrISPA? and Big Dish AfrISPA is a continental association of ISP associations. AfrISPA=92s objec= tives include promoting the development of key Internet infrastructure on the African con= tinent. Contact details: - Brian Longwe, General Manager, AfrISPA, Brian@pure-id.co= m, +254.733.518.744 - Big Dish Ltd, a new satellite provider incorporated in Mauritius, has imple= mented a project that will revolutionise Internet access in Africa by breaking the= current paradigm of Interconnection charges. Contact details: - Matthew Rudd, CEO, Big Dish Ltd, Mauritius, bigdish@bush= net.net +254.733.625.340 -- Eric M.K Osiakwan Executive Secretary AfrISPA (www.afrispa.org) Tel: + 233.21.258800 Fax: + 233.21.258811 Cell: + 233.244.386792 Handle: eosiakwan Snail Mail: Pmb 208, Accra-North Office: BusyInternet - 42 Ring Road Central, Accra-North Blog: http://afrispa.skybuilders.com/users/Eric/blog.html Slang: "Tomorrow Now" --