FEATURE LISBON: A DIGITAL GATEWAY ENABLING GROWTH AND RESILIENCE
Subsea cable operators are expanding capacity across emerging and developed markets, and Lisbon is uniquely positioned to support both goals BY KEITH SHAW
[This article was originally published at https://blog.equinix.com/blog/2024/04/25/lisbon-a-digital-gateway-enabling-growth-and-resilience/ ]
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ubsea cables have existed for more than 150 years, but demand continues to grow. TeleGeography predicts that $11 billion in new cable systems will go into service between 2023 and 2025.[1] Where this growth is happening is also important. Operators are adding capacity on established routes, but they’re also investing in new cables to emerging markets. This two-pronged approach will spur digital growth in new places while also making global digital infrastructure more resilient. As extreme weather, geopolitical conflicts and other threats arise, having more cables across more routes will provide redundancy and ensure the continued growth of our digital economy. In this new reality, Lisbon is becoming one of the most important subsea cable hubs on the planet. This is largely thanks to its strategic location at the confluence of Europe, Africa, the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The Portuguese government has worked to take advantage of this by supporting new digital infrastructure projects and speeding up the licensing process. As a result, Portugal has become one of the few countries in the world with direct subsea cable connectivity to every populated continent.[2]
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Lisbon offers cable operators one location that can help meet both of their priorities: opening new routes to emerging markets and providing alternative routes between developed markets. We can see this playing out with new cable systems that have landed in Lisbon recently and others scheduled to do so soon.
PROVIDING THE FOUNDATION FOR DIGITAL GROWTH IN AFRICA
International internet bandwidth into Africa grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 44% between 2019 and 2023, the fastest growth of any continent by far.[3] This is largely because of the unmatched digital opportunity that exists in Africa today. More than 850 million Africans still lack basic internet connectivity.[4] Two new cable systems that land in Lisbon—Equiano and 2Africa— are designed to help change that. Equiano and 2Africa are backed by two global tech companies—Google and Meta, respectively. Both companies have business models that depend on bringing in new users to view more content. The markets in Europe and North America have become saturated, but connecting even a small portion of the unconnected population in Africa