Sparkle, the first international service provider in Italy and among the top ten global operators, and Trans Ocean Network, a Panamanian telecommunications company, have agreed to form a strategic joint venture in Panama for the construction of an open landing and connectivity center that aims to become the digital hub for all Central America, the Andean region and the Caribbean.

Panama Digital Gateway will be a next generation open hub featuring state-of-the-art technologies and infrastructures to satisfy all customers’ requirements. Located in Panama City, the new building will offer 3,200 square meters of colocation space for over 600 racks and 5 MW of power and will feature the latest security technologies and an expected Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.4.
The hub will be integrated with Sparkle’s global backbone – more than 600,000 km of fiber spanning from Europe to Africa, the Americas and Asia – and will also be the landing point of existing and upcoming submarine cables looking for a diversified entry way to Central America, thus strengthening the role of Panama as the strategic digital hub between North and South America.

By establishing a presence in the new hub, OTTs, carriers, financial institutions and corporations will be able to benefit from Sparkle’s global connectivity services – including its global Tier-1 IP transit service Seabone and its capacity solutions – and access to other regional networks. The direct access to submarine cables provides a plus in terms of performance and resilience, as undersea cables are the information highways where Internet and telecommunication services travel at the speed of light, enabling real-time digital services.

“The development of infrastructures in the Americas represents a pillar of Sparkle’s strategic plan to consolidate its positioning in the telecommunications wholesale market while reinforcing its offering of digital solutions to enterprises.”, explained Elisabetta Romano, CEO of Sparkle. “The construction of the hub in Panama, a natural crossroad of Central America and a bridge between the Atlantic and the Pacific as well as a strategic hub between North and South America, is a project of fundamental importance for the landing of new submarine cables and the creation of an ecosystem of interconnected players.”

“Panama Digital Gateway consolidates and positions Panama as the digital hub of the region, strengthening the connectivity of our country, and becoming a strategic interconnection offer for OTTs, carriers and enterprises”, stated Joaquín Victoria Díaz, General Manager of Trans Ocean Network. “We are very pleased to be participating in the construction and operation of this open hub in conjunction with a partner of experience and global scale such as Sparkle.”

José Alejandro Rojas Pardini, Minister of Facilitation of Private Investments for the Presidency of the Republic of Panama, highlighted that “This project positions Panama as the bridge for data connectivity of Latin America. Its geographical location and competitive advantages make our country an attractive Hub for investments in technology, reinforcing the Digital Hub strategy, which is being carried out by the Government of President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen”.

Is Panama set to become a major digital hub for Latin America? Find out what the experts think at this year’s live Submarine Networks EMEA conference next week

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