DE-CIX and CVTelecom have outlined plans for a new South Atlantic data corridor. The route would connect Lisbon, Portugal, with São Paulo, Brazil. The companies signed a Letter of Intent to explore the project.
The planned link could reshape traffic flows between three regions. It targets networks in Europe, West Africa, and Latin America. Today, much international traffic still crosses Northern Europe or North America. A more direct southern route could reduce delays and improve resilience.
Under the planned partnership, CVTelecom would provide transport capacity. This capacity would support the connection between Lisbon and São Paulo. DE-CIX would add its interconnection services across Europe and the Americas. These services help networks exchange traffic more directly and efficiently.
The arrangement would extend CVTelecom’s reach into major exchange locations. These include Frankfurt, Madrid, Marseille, New York, and São Paulo. In return, DE-CIX would gain dedicated capacity across the South Atlantic route.
This model could appeal to carriers, cloud providers, and content platforms. Shorter routes often mean better performance for users. They can also support more stable international services. For enterprises, that matters as applications become increasingly cloud-based and latency-sensitive.
However, the plan still sits at an exploratory stage. A Letter of Intent does not equal a final deployment. Subsea and international connectivity projects need strong commercial demand. They also require operational coordination, regulatory alignment, and long-term investment confidence.
Even so, the strategic logic remains clear. Cape Verde sits between Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Greater use of this position could diversify global traffic paths. It could also strengthen West Africa’s role in international digital infrastructure.
Theresa Bobis, Head of Emerging Wholesale Markets at DE-CIX, said: “Digital growth increasingly depends on resilient, diverse, and geographically distributed connectivity.
“Together with Cabo Verde Telecom, we want to create a new interconnection corridor across the South Atlantic that brings digital ecosystems in Europe, Africa, and Latin America closer together. More direct data routes can improve performance, strengthen infrastructure resilience, and open up new opportunities for businesses and network operators across all three regions.”
Isa Neves, Chief Marketing Officer at CVTelecom, added: “Partnering with DE-CIX represents an important step in strengthening Cape Verde’s position as a strategic digital gateway between Africa, Europe, and the Americas.
“By combining CVTelecom’s international connectivity capabilities with DE-CIX’s global interconnection ecosystem, we aim to enhance connectivity, resilience, and access to digital services, creating new value for our customers while contributing to the continued digital development of Cape Verde and the wider West African region.”
For the telecoms sector, the announcement reflects a broader shift. Operators now want diverse, distributed, and regionalised connectivity. If developed, this corridor could become a useful alternative path for global traffic. It could also bring new commercial options to networks across three continents.
