EllaLink Cable Project Backed by €25 million EU Financial Support

According to Data Center Dynamics, Spanish and Brazilian government officials have confirmed that a proposed Ellalink submarine cable system between the two countries has been given the go-ahead. The European Commission will provide €25 million ($27.2m) in financial support for the Ellalink cable project.

The 9,200 km-long (5,700 mile) EllaLink will connect to data centers in Madrid, Lisbon and São Paulo, as well as connecting to Fortazela, the archipelagoes of Madeira, Spain’s Canary Islands and Africa’s Cape Verde, with 3 fiber pair. The Ellalink submarince cable system will replace the only one existing Atalantis-2 submarine cable system connecting Portugal, Brazail and other countries in Latim America.

EllaLink is a partnership between Spanish submarine cable operator IslaLink and Brazilian telecoms provider Telebras, will be operator neutral. Alcatel Submarine Networks will be responsible for the project.

The European Commission provided €25 million ($27.2m) in financial support for the Ellalink cable, as part of its Building Europe Link to Latin America (BELLA) initiative. 

This financial support was confirmed by a meeting between Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoya and Brazil's President Dilma Vana Roussef in April 2017.