Sparkle, in collaboration with Trans Ocean Network, inaugurated the Panama Digital Gateway (PDG), a next generation, carrier-neutral, open landing station, data center and connectivity hub.
Panama Digital Gateway is the landing point of Curie, the cable system connecting California to Chile with a branching unit into Panama developed by Google and Sparkle, and of new upcoming submarine cables looking for a diversified entry way to Central America.
The new building, which is located in Corazal (Panama City), offers 5,500 square meters of space for up to 650 equivalent racks and 3.5 MW of scalable power.
The gateway is integrated with Sparkle’s global backbone – more than 600,000 km of fiber spanning from Europe to Africa, the Americas and Asia.
Trans Ocean Network is a Panamanian telecommunications operator that owns, operates and maintains a terrestrial network of fiber optic cables in Panama, including rights of way, ducts, beach manholes, bore pipes, and cable landing stations.
The opening ceremony was attended by Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, President of Panama, and attended by Fabrizio Nicoletti, Ambassador of the Italian Republic in Panama, David Gonzalez Solis, CEO and founder of TON, and Enrico Maria Bagnasco, CEO of Sparkle.
Fabrizio Nicoletti, Ambassador of the Republic of Italy in Panama, said: “Panama and Italy have a historic relationship working closely in collaboration and coordination programs of different disciplines, fostering international cooperation between the two countries. We are very proud to have a first level Italian enterprise as Sparkle making possible this data center, a tangible demonstration of Italy’s growing interest in Panama and in the Region”.
“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 David Gonzalez Solis, CEO 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.”
“The development of infrastructures in the Americas represents a pillar of Sparkle’s plan to consolidate its positioning in the telecommunications wholesale market while reinforcing its offering of digital solutions”, explained Enrico Maria Bagnasco, CEO of Sparkle. “Panama is a natural crossroad of Central America and a bridge between the Atlantic and the Pacific as well as a strategic cross-point between North and South America, and our Panama Digital Gateway aims to be the reference landing hub of new submarine cables and the centre of choice to develop an ecosystem of interconnected players.”
