Lisbon, July 18, 2024 (Lusa) - Portugal has become a global data interconnection 'hub', gaining a "central position in the contemporary global Internet panorama", according to a study commissioned by global operator DE-CIX and published on Thursday.
"This is one of the main conclusions of a study commissioned by DE-CIX, the world's leading Internet Exchange (IX) operator, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of its presence in Portugal," the company said in a statement.
The study analyses the factors that have allowed Portugal - and Lisbon in particular - "to be recognised as a global interconnection centre, as a result of investments in infrastructure, geography and global submarine cables - and to establish itself as a viable alternative to the FLAPS (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Stockholm), the historic interconnection sites in Europe".
Called "Portugal: A Global Interconnection Hub, a Gateway to Europe, a Gateway to the World", the study states that although London and Frankfurt are in a similar position, "Lisbon stands out for having direct submarine cable connections across the Atlantic to South America, and soon direct connections to the East Coast of the USA".
By 2026, Portugal's submarine cable mooring initiatives are expected to extend to 115 cable mooring stations worldwide, with direct cable links to around 60 countries on five continents and as far as Australia.
"What makes Portugal even more distinct from other countries is that the four main international cable mooring stations and Portugal's three main Internet Exchanges in Lisbon are all within a radius of just 100 kilometres, creating a uniquely concentrated and interconnected network infrastructure," reads the document.
The study also concluded that "Portugal's IP transit connectivity prices have fallen by 65% since 2016, providing a competitive position in the European market".
It also highlights "a thriving ecosystem of submarine and terrestrial cables, strong investment in data centres and a doubling of the number of Internet Exchanges from 2016 to 2024" as factors for Portugal's positioning, which currently connects regions of the world to Europe and beyond.
At the beginning of this year, Portugal had 33 data centres, 20 of which are near Lisbon.
"In Covilhã, Portugal has one of the largest data centres in the world", and there are plans for another powered entirely by green energy as part of the project in Sines.
This "will be the largest renewable energy data centre in Europe" if it is completed as planned.
"As we celebrate five years of DE-CIX Lisbon, we are immensely proud of the growth and impact we have achieved in establishing Portugal as a global interconnection hub," DE-CIX's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ivo Ivanov, said in a statement.
The study "[...] reveals the remarkable progress Portugal has made in developing its digital infrastructure and boosting various sectors," he adds.
"We have seen significant growth, with the number of connected networks tripling since the start of our operations. DE-CIX Lisbon's strategic location minimises latency in data exchange, supported by direct submarine cable connections to South America and future connections to the US east coast," he points out, noting that low latency "is crucial" for digital services, "often considered the new currency of the digital age".
Lisbon is hosting the first Atlantic Convergence conference between 1 and 3 October, an event hosted by DE-CIX, in partnership with Atlas Edge, the leading European provider of Edge platforms with data centres in 12 countries, EllaLink, a submarine cable linking Europe, Africa and South America, and Interfiber Networks, which offers fibre, IP transit and aggregation solutions for Internet connectivity in Africa.
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