The widespread power outage on April 29 caused a major disruption in Internet traffic volumes across Spain and Portugal, according to global internet exchange operator DE-CIX. In Madrid, traffic fell to approximately 252 Gbps, down sharply from typical levels of around 1 Tbps. In Lisbon, traffic dropped to about 14 Gbps, based on live network statistics published by DE-CIX. Despite the significant regional decline, DE-CIX confirmed that its infrastructure remained fully operational throughout the incident thanks to strict resilience and backup power requirements.
Separately, as of the afternoon of April 29, Telefónica reported that it had already achieved 97.5% fixed network uptime and 95% mobile network uptime. The company noted that mobile voice traffic surged 50% higher than normal averages, reflecting increased demand following the outage. Telefónica said its Crisis Committee was activated immediately on Monday to coordinate the full restoration of services, and efforts are continuing around the clock.
- Internet traffic in Madrid dropped to around 252 Gbps, compared to the normal ~1 Tbps level.
- In Lisbon, traffic volumes fell to about 14 Gbps.
- Telefónica reported 97.5% fixed network uptime and 95% mobile network uptime by the morning of April 29.
- Mobile voice traffic in Spain was 50% higher than usual following the power outage.
- DE-CIX infrastructure was not impacted due to its strict data center selection criteria, including redundant power supplies and extended UPS capabilities.
- Full traffic statistics are available from DE-CIX for Madrid and Lisbon.
“DE-CIX doesn’t own or operate data centers, but rents space in data centers operated by a range of different providers, keeping DE-CIX carrier and data center neutral. Generally, DE-CIX takes a range of essential factors into consideration in the choice of data center partners. One of the most important factors is that the data center is supplied with power from two separate and independently operating electricity suppliers,” said Ivo Ivanov, CEO of DE-CIX. “In addition to this, we only choose data centers that have an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) composed of battery modules and emergency power generators. This means that, in the case of a power outage, the UPS automatically takes over and guarantees the supply of power to the infrastructure.”
