An international honor has been given to a professor at Pakistan’s Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) for his efforts to improve internet productivity there.
On behalf of his group, Zartash Afzal Uzmi received an ISIF Asia prize at the Internet Governance Forum in Japan. In recognition of his team’s work on Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) at LUMS, Zartash Afzal accepted the award on their behalf.
It is significant to remember that IXPs play a critical role in guiding traffic to websites and social media platforms. Additionally, it facilitates faster communication.
Pakistan currently has three IXPs. The LUMS team utilized infrastructure housed in the Higher Education Commission and Punjab Information Technology Board to assist the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in establishing these IXPs.
The LUMS team was recognized for their continued work to improve these IXPs through the use of cutting-edge networking technologies, or “Software Defined Networking.”
Along with them, Mr. Mubasher Gondal, an economic specialist at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Dr. Sahibzada Ali Mahmud, managing director of KPITB, and Sajid Latif, director general of e-Governance at PITB, attended the occasion.
Surprisingly, in a lab environment, researchers have successfully incorporated SDN technology into an IXP without these characteristics. This wasn’t previously thought to be possible without beginning the IXP from scratch.
The IXPs in Pakistan are going to get this cutting-edge technology thanks to Dr. Uzmi and his colleagues. Additionally, he is confident that his findings will encourage content goliaths like Facebook and Google to expand their presence within the Pakistan IXP, ultimately assisting in the improvement of internet speed in the nation.
“Having large content distribution networks and providers hosted locally would make a big difference in providing equitable web access,” stated Dr. Uzmi.
In order to give Pakistani users “better and faster experiences on par with services elsewhere in the world,” he reaffirmed his commitment to doing so.
It should be mentioned that initiatives using cutting-edge technology and research to improve Internet development in the Asia-Pacific area are eligible for Information Society Innovation Fund (ISIF Asia) prizes, which are managed by the APNIC Foundation.