Seacom has deployed Akamai Technologies’ content clusters and caching nodes on its network, it said on Tuesday. US-headquartered Akamai, which operates a global Internet content delivery network, is responsible for delivering nearly a third of all Web traffic.
According to Seacom, which was the first company to build a subsea telecommunications cable system along Africa’s east coast, the Akamai nodes will “accelerate and optimise” file downloads, video and music playback, software updates and other Web content requested by operators and Internet service providers connected to its network.
“African end-users will enjoy lower latency, faster speeds and more reliable service when accessing popular Web services and content from around the world,” the company says.
Akamai, which launched commercial services in 1999, developed a set of algorithms for intelligently routing and replicating content over a large network of distributed servers, without relying on centralised servers typically used by website owners.
When users visit the Web page of an Akamai customer, they are typically redirected to one of Akamai’s copies of the site. — (c) 2014 NewsCentral Media