Project Title:
Establishment of Nepal Internet Exchange

Recipient Institution:
Computer Association of Nepal
235/39 Dhobidhara Marg, Kumari Galli
Kathmandu
Nepal

Tel: (9771) 432700 / 434836
Fax: (9771) 424043

Project Leader:
Mr. Gaurab Raj Upadhaya, Chairman
gaurab@lahai.com

Amount and Duration: USD $ 9,000 / 9 months

Abstract of Project
The project will address the problems associated with local traffic routing within Nepal. While there are 16 ISPs in operation, in most cases local traffic traverses the Internet backbone before reaching the ISP in the next block. The formation of the local Internet Exchange will facilitate this exchange of local traffic. This will benefit the ISPs directly through preservation of bandwidth, and will benefit users with faster downloads. The exchange will also provide "looking glass" facility for researchers to ascertain the size of Internet infrastructure in Nepal. The research importance of NPIX will continue to increase as the size of the Internet in Nepal continues to grow.

A joint NPIX working group, with participation from all stakeholders has done much of the preliminary work and a sustainable operational modality for the NPIX has been worked out. The NPIX board, with representation from all relevant bodies has been established. The project will also document the procedures and process of the establishment and operation of an Internet Exchange, which can subsequently be used in other countries and situations.