Convergencia Research, Consultoría especializada en Latinoamérica y Caribe
Tuesday, September 01, 2020

EllaLink submarine cable seeks to reduce latency between Europe and Latin America by 50%, with an investment of US$180 million

Diego Matas, COO of the company, gave details to Convergencialatina of the project to link Portugal and Brazil. The 6,000 km laying and initial capacity of 72 Tbps traces the most direct route between both continents and will be operational in early 2021.

After several alterations in its design and even change of owners - Telebras state company in Brazil left the project and today belongs to the European investment vehicle Marguerita -, at the beginning of 2021 the EllaLink will start operations, which runs 6,000 km between Sines ( Portugal) and Fortaleza (Brazil). Its objective is to connect South America and Europe by means of the shortest and most direct route, and bypassing the United States, to reduce latency. “It is a diverse way of reaching Latin America, because currently 98% of Latin American traffic passes by the United States. By having a more coastal route, the latency between both continents will be lowered by 50%”, highlighted Diego Matas, COO of EllaLink.

As the laying design progressed, stakeholders joined in, so the project added branches to Morocco and Mauritania, and there are branch units open to reach São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Kourou in French Guiana. “We know that Sao Paulo is a marketing point, and from there through the terrestrial backbones we can reach Argentina and Chile. And we are also interested in Colombia”, commented the executive to Convergencialatina.

On the other hand, fiber optic rings were laid from Sines on the Portuguese coast to Madrid in Spain and Marseille in France. At this last point there are more than 20 submarine cable systems, with a large number of Asian players that have already shown interest in this new route. “We are not a purely underwater player. It is a PoP to PoP design. It doesn't end on the beach. When a customer connects in São Paulo, they will connect to the data centers in that city. It will be a single transportation platform. Faced with traditional “beach-to-beach” connectivity, we propose a concept of “PoP to PoP connectivity”.

EllaLink initiative will require an investment of US$180 million, including the marine part and land stations. Matas trusted that 100% has already been financed and currently the construction of the network is 70% complete. “The intention is to start deploying the cable in the water in October or November. As it crosses more than 33 current submarine cables, all the permits had to be obtained - in the middle of the Covid-19 - and all have already been obtained”.

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