Spain, Brazil plan subsea fibre optic cable by 2019

Rajoy said the venture to build the first subsea fibre optic cable linking Europe to Brazil should help improve data security and privacy by routing calls and Internet navigation outside the reach of the United States. Pictured are Rajoy and Brazil's Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications Gilberto Kassab.

SAO PAULO: The Spanish and Brazilian governments have teamed up to lay an undersea cable in the Atlantic Ocean to offer fast online and cloud services to citizens of both countries by 2019, underscoring efforts to rout communications outside North America. 

The EllaLink subsea cable will connect to data centres in Madrid and São Paulo, as well as in Lisbon, using shielded fibre rings, officials said on Monday. The cable will also connect the archipelagos of Madeira, Spain's Canary Islands and Africa's Cape Verde along the route, they added.