New global conference format “Atlantic Convergence” coming to Lisbon in October
DE-CIX, the world’s leading Internet Exchange (IX) operator, today celebrates the fifth anniversary of its Portuguese exchange, DE-CIX Lisbon, now the largest IX in Portugal based on network count. To mark the occasion of this milestone, DE-CIX has published a study titled "Portugal: A Global Interconnection Hub, a Gateway to Europe, a Gateway to the World", offering a comprehensive analysis of Portugal’s emergence as a strategic hub for digital connectivity. The study examines the range of factors which have enabled Portugal, and Lisbon in particular, to be recognized as a global interconnection hub, including the existence of a thriving Internet Exchange (IX) market supporting the needs of network operators and enterprises in the process of digitalization. The findings show that Portugal’s IP transit connectivity prices have dropped by 65% since 2016, giving it a competitive foothold in the European market. With a thriving ecosystem of submarine and terrestrial cables, strong data center investment, and a doubling of the number of Internet Exchanges from 2016 to 2024, Portugal today seamlessly links other regions of the world to Europe and beyond. On top of the study, DE-CIX today announces the first edition of a new global conference format, Atlantic Convergence, taking place in Lisbon from 1st – 3rd of October 2024. The event brings together the visionaries and most knowledgeable users and architects of pan-Atlantic digital infrastructure from world renowned enterprises, as well as data center, submarine cable, and LEO satellite operators, cloud service providers, OTTs, and IX operators. During the event, a further study will be published, focusing on the role of the Iberian Peninsula in the global interconnection landscape.
Study reveals: Portugal is a Global Interconnection Hub, Gateway from Europe to the World
From a geographical standpoint, the study shows that Portugal occupies a pivotal position in the contemporary global Internet landscape and is placed at the center of the Internet connectivity world. Serving as an ideal nexus for submarine and terrestrial connectivity, it seamlessly links other regions of the world to Europe, and reciprocally facilitates efficient access for Europeans to the rest of the globe potentially minimizing all round-trip times for data flows. According to the study, Portugal provides a viable alternative to the historical FLAPS (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Stockholm) interconnection powerhouse locations. Given that minimizing the distance that data needs to travel is essential for keeping latency as low as possible, geographical location is decisive for not only local data exchange, but also international and cross-continental traffic flows.
Surge in Internet speeds, reduction in connectivity costs
From 2016 to early 2024, Portugal has witnessed a surge in the average Internet connection speed, rising from 12.6 Mbps to 119 Mbps, an increase of 844%. This has moved the country up 15 places in the global ranking of average Internet connection speed, from position 37 to 22. Portugal has also seen a 20% decrease in average price per megabit to end customers, and an even sharper decrease in transit prices, dropping an impressive 65% to 0.26 EUR cents. With prices in 2023 at 0.25 EUR cents in Spain and 0.22 EUR cents in Germany, Portugal is well positioned in comparison with other competitive markets. This reduction in prices can be seen as a direct positive impact of Portugal’s status as a promising global interconnection hub, with significant growth in international networks and other digital infrastructure in the period 2016 to 2024.
Infrastructure investments solidifying Portugal’s status as global interconnection hub
In terms of domestic infrastructure investments, Portugal took third place in Europe in 2023 for Fiber to the Home / Building (FTTH/B) connectivity, with a penetration rate of 71.1%. At the beginning of 2024, Portugal has 33 data centers, of which 20 are in or in the vicinity of Lisbon. At a site in Covilhã, Portugal boasts one of the world’s largest data centers. In addition to this, there are plans for a data center powered by 100% green energy as part of the unique Sines data center project. If the project is completed as planned, it will be the largest renewable energy data center site in Europe. These developments are all aimed at managing the ever-growing demand for both data storage and transmission. On top, Portugal saw a 58% increase in the number of publicly routed networks from 2016 to 2024, and 90% of the ASNs registered were announced.
Uniquely concentrated and interconnected network infrastructure in Lisbon
Enhancing Portugal’s distinction as a global interconnection hub is the strategic placement of its cable landing stations at five separate locations on the mainland. The country has managed to foster a truly distributed interconnected infrastructure spanning multiple cities along its expansive Atlantic coastline. This dispersion fortifies overall Internet diversity and robustness, providing redundancy and resiliency against potential disruptions.
What sets Portugal apart even more distinctly is that the four major international cable landing stations and Portugal’s three main Internet Exchanges (IXs) in Lisbon are all within a radius of just 100 kilometers, creating a uniquely concentrated and interconnected network infrastructure.
DE-CIX Lisbon: Largest IX in Portugal
Finally, a solid and resilient connectivity infrastructure and an abundance of data centers allows for the emergence of a diverse Internet Exchange ecosystem. From 2016 to 2024 the number of IXs in operation in Portugal doubled, bringing the total to four IXs offering services at various data centers for a diversity of network operators. DE-CIX, the world’s leading Internet Exchange operator, entered the Portuguese market with DE-CIX Lisbon in 2019, fostering an increasingly distributed IX ecosystem and encouraging more international networks to connect in the capital. With global reach and an already strong presence in Spain, the company took the opportunity to develop its European interconnection ecosystem further into Southern Europe. Today, DE-CIX Lisbon has attained 1st position as the largest IX in the Portuguese market, with 60 connected networks, including two newly connected Brazilian networks capitalizing on the direct connection between Portugal and Brazil via the EllaLink submarine cable.
"As we celebrate five years of DE-CIX Lisbon, we're immensely proud of the growth and impact we've achieved in establishing Portugal as a global interconnection hub. The study marks a significant milestone in our journey. This analysis sheds light on the remarkable progress Portugal has made in developing its digital infrastructure and driving various sectors forward,” says Ivo Ivanov, CEO of DE-CIX. “We have seen significant growth, with the number of connected networks tripling since our start. DE-CIX Lisbon's strategic location minimizes latency in data exchange, supported by direct submarine cable links to South America and upcoming connections to the East Coast of the US. Low latency is crucial for digital services, often considered the "new currency" of the digital age.”
The full study (in English) can be downloaded here