Equiano – a Google-funded state-of-the-art subsea cable scheduled to be operational in 2022 – is being deployed from Portugal to South Africa to improve the digital connectivity between Europe and several West African countries. Individuals, companies, the public sector, and telco operators will benefit from access to Google’s services and broadband provided via telco services operated on some of the cable’s fibre-pairs.
In the study, we estimate the economic impact on GDP in Portugal from the forthcoming subsea cables Equiano and EllaLink – both are expected to land in Portugal and start activity in 2021/2022. We then describe the enablers of this economic impact; namely trade, investment, and productivity impacts. We conclude by outlining some policy considerations for the continuous development of digital connectivity infrastructure.
Key findings from this study will be presented today at the digital conference on International Connectivity and the EU-Atlantic Data Gateway Platform. You can read more about the conference here
For further information, please contact Director Dr Bruno Basalisco