New global conference Format “Atlantic Convergence” coming to Lisbon in October
Lisbon, Portugal – 28 May 2024. 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: https://www.de-cix.net/en/resources/white-papers/portugal-a-global-interconnection-hub
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About DE-CIX
DE-CIX is the world’s leading Internet Exchange (IX) operator, offering its interconnection services in nearly 50
metropolitan markets in Europe, Africa, North America, the Middle East, India and South East Asia. DE-CIX services
are accessible from data centres in more than 600 cities around the world, DE-CIX interconnects thousands of carriers,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs), content providers and enterprise networks in more than 100 countries and also
offers peering, cloud and interconnection services. Founded in 1995, DE-CIX is one of the world’s largest Internet
exchange points, with an annual data volume of around 30 Exabytes and some 1100 connected networks. More than
200 partners from over 30 different countries form the basis for the success of DE-CIX in Germany and worldwide.
Since the early days of the Internet, DE-CIX has had a decisive influence on co-defining the guiding principles of the
Internet of today and tomorrow. As an operator of critical IT infrastructures, DE-CIX has a major responsibility for the
smooth, fast, and secure exchange of data between people, companies and organizations at its sites around the
world. For more information, please visit www.de-cix.net.
About DE-CIX Iberia
DE-CIX currently operates three Internet Exchanges on the Iberian Peninsula – Madrid, Lisbon, and Barcelona.
Together with DE-CIX Marseille and DE-CIX Palermo and close to 500 connected networks in 13 different data centres,
DE-CIX Southern Europe is the largest neutral interconnection ecosystem in the region.
Within DE-CIX Southern Europe, the IXs in Lisbon, Barcelona, Marseille, and Palermo act as the gateway to Europe to
interconnect directly with local, regional, and global networks from America, Africa, and Asia to reach people and
businesses across the continent. In its five years of existence, DE-CIX Madrid has grown to become the digital hub of
this ecosystem, handling traffic flows of more than 1.5 terabits per second peak traffic.
Media Contact DE-CIX:
Judith Ellis, Elisabeth Marcard, Viola Schreiber, Robert Stotzem, Nils Klute & Carsten Titt – Global Public Relations –
Telephone: +49 (0)69 1730902 130 – Email: media@de-cix.net
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