I remember very well last year when the Atlantic Convergence in Lisbon was barely a whisper on the tech calendar. I was one of the first to write about it, at a time when few had yet realized the strategic importance of this initiative. It wasn’t just another tech event, it was a signal of Lisbon’s emerging role in the global digital ecosystem. That early instinct was validated when I was invited by Ivo Ivanov, CEO of DE-CIX, to attend the conference. Now, just a few months later, Lisbon isn’t a footnote; it’s becoming the headline.
What DE-CIX has achieved since then is nothing short of transformational. Known globally as the operator of some of the world’s largest and most advanced Internet Exchanges, DE-CIX has not only expanded its footprint across the globe, including into Brazil! But has also reaffirmed Portugal’s central role in transatlantic connectivity. Ivanov’s vision was clear from the start: Lisbon isn’t just a convenient location on the map, it is the strategic intersection of Europe, South America, and Africa.
This perspective isn’t abstract. The company’s expansion into Portuguese data centers, such as Equinix, AtlasEdge, and Start Campus, and its ongoing partnership with Altice Wholesale Solutions at the Linda-a-Velha facility, are concrete steps that highlight Lisbon’s integration into DE-CIX’s global architecture. These centers aren’t just hosting local traffic, they’re serving as interconnection points for transatlantic and pan-European networks, directly plugged into the heart of DE-CIX’s infrastructure.
Ivanov put it succinctly during his remarks: “Lisbon is already a gateway and now it’s a connectivity gateway.” It’s more than poetic. With over 20 submarine cables landing in Portugal and one of the highest fiber-to-the-home/building penetration rates in Europe, Lisbon is positioned to become not only a digital hub but the capital of pan-Atlantic data flow.
In just six years, DE-CIX has seen a 1,200% growth in local network activity in Portugal. That scale of expansion speaks not only to the company’s foresight but also to Portugal’s potential as a global digital powerhouse. It reflects a broader shift: in a world that once routed South American data through the U.S. to reach Europe, the logic now points directly to Lisbon. It’s faster, more efficient, and geopolitically smarter.
There’s something deeply symbolic in this trajectory. As someone who first spotlighted Atlantic Convergence before it became an industry touchpoint, it’s rewarding to see Lisbon’s emergence being validated by the actions of a global player like DE-CIX. And as I watch Portugal step confidently into its role as a transcontinental hub, I’m reminded that digital infrastructure isn’t just about cables and centers, it’s about connecting the future. And that future is increasingly routed through Lisbon.
Paulo Lopes is a multi-talent Portuguese citizen who made his Master of Economics in Switzerland and studied law at Lusófona in Lisbon - CEO of Casaiberia in Lisbon and Algarve.
