A professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) has received an international award for his work enhancing internet efficiency in Pakistan.
Zartash Afzal Uzmi and his team were honored with an ISIF Asia award at the Internet Governance Forum held in Japan. Zartash Afzal received the award on behalf of his team at LUMS for their work on Internet Exchange Points (IXPs).
It is important to note that IXPs have a crucial part in directing web and social media traffic. Furthermore, it also helps to reduce communication delays.
At the moment, Pakistan has three IXPs. The LUMS team played an important role in helping the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to establish these IXPs, utilizing infrastructure housed in the Higher Education Commission and Punjab Information Technology Board.
The LUMS team was honored for their ongoing research, aimed at enhancing these IXPs with advanced networking technology, known as Software Defined Networking.
The event was also attended by Sajid Latif Director General of e-Governance at PITB, Dr. Sahibzada Ali Mahmud Managing Director of KPITB, and Mr. Mubasher Gondal Economic Specialist at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.
Remarkably, in a lab setting, researchers have successfully equipped an IXP lacking these capabilities with SDN technology. Previously, this was considered unfeasible without starting the IXP from scratch.
Dr Uzmi and his team are planning to implement this innovative technology in Pakistan’s IXPs. Furthermore, he is optimistic that his research will incentivize content giants such as Facebook and Google to strengthen their presence within the Pakistan IXP, eventually helping to enhance internet speed in the country.
“Having large content distribution networks and providers hosted locally would make a big difference in providing equitable web access,” Dr Uzmi said.
He reiterated his commitment to providing Pakistani users ‘better and faster experience on par with services elsewhere in the world.’
It should be noted that the Information Society Innovation Fund (ISIF Asia) awards, administered by the APNIC Foundation, are bestowed upon projects that employ innovative technologies and research to advance Internet development in the Asia-Pacific region.
Source: Pro Pakistani