Convergencia Research, Consultoría especializada en Latinoamérica y Caribe
Monday, September 20, 2021

Panama's new “digital channel” to be ready by the end of the first quarter of 2022

Sparkle and Trans Ocean Network will install the Panama Digital Gateway: it will consist of a completely neutral data center and a dedicated cable landing station. This and other projects for wholesale carriers in the region will be addressed at Carriers Map Day, a virtual event organized by Convergencialatina on September 22.

The project, a “digital channel” in Panama, began more than three years ago between Sparkle and the local operator Trans Ocean Network. As Carmine Sorrentino, president of Panama Digital Gateway and Executive VP for the Americas region of Sparkle, described, “We always think that geographically, due to the submarine cables that reach Panama and the corporations there, it is a hub. In addition, Panama has political stability; there are no complications for imports. With all this, it could be a Central American Gateway, where to place a “cloud” for all operators.”

One of the keys to this development is precisely to present it as neutral for all types of stakeholders, from OTTs to banks and Tier-1 or Tier-2 operators, under the same ecosystem.

“For Sparkle, it is very important to have a local partner like Trans Ocean Network to carry out such an ambitious project,” Sorrentino continued. Undeniably, the resulting company is mainly owned by the Italian firm.

In the case of Trans Ocean Network, it started its business by landing submarine cables, with infrastructure for crossings of the Maya, the Arcos, the PCCS. It also has a metropolitan network and provides last mile services, backhaul, connection to data centers and corporate services. Thanks to its 700 km of fiber optics in its own network, it serves 18 banks and distribution companies, among others, in addition to entering the residential market with FTTH in Panama City.

In a talk with Convergencialatina, David Gonzalez, Executive President of the Trans Ocean Network, described the initiative as "a digital highway to expand the existing ecosystem." He recalled that seven submarine cables land in Panama, to which terrestrial networks that arrive from the Central American country to Mexico are added. "It is a favorable terrain for the exchange of international capabilities and the distribution of content," he pointed out.

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