In an increasingly interconnected world, digital infrastructure has become as critical as roads, ports, and airports. The announcement of Google’s new undersea cable, Sol, linking the United States, Bermuda, the Azores, and Spain, marks a major milestone not just in connectivity but in Portugal’s rising strategic importance on the global digital map.

Few people realize that Portugal already anchors over 25% of the world's undersea fiber optic cables. Now, with the Sol cable, that leadership is about to be reinforced. This is not just about the faster internet. It is about global data flows, cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence services, and long-term economic competitiveness. In simple terms, whoever controls the cables controls the flow of the digital world.

The new Sol system complements Google’s previously announced Nuvem cable, and the two will interconnect in several locations, including the Azores, a Portuguese archipelago now emerging as a crucial Atlantic node for digital infrastructure. These two cables will not only add capacity and redundancy to the transatlantic network but also dramatically enhance resilience against disruptions, technical failures, or geopolitical risks.

The implications are far-reaching. For one, the Azores will become the central landing point of a digital superhighway that links Florida directly to Europe. For the first time, a fiber optic cable will create a direct connection between Palm Coast, Florida and the European continent via Portugal’s mid-Atlantic islands, solidifying the Azores as a transatlantic digital hub.

This shift represents more than geography. It is a strategic move for Europe, allowing the continent to diversify its digital routes, increase its data sovereignty, and decrease its dependence on northern routes through the UK or Scandinavia. It also enhances Europe’s competitiveness in the face of rising demand for cloud computing and AI processing, particularly as tech infrastructure becomes more central to security, innovation, and economic growth.

For Portugal, this is a historic opportunity. The country’s geographic position, once key for ocean exploration, is becoming equally valuable in the digital era. By investing in undersea cables, Portugal strengthens its role as a gateway between continents, turning geography into digital capital. It also signals that regional areas like the Azores can play a vital role in global infrastructure development, not as passive bystanders, but as active enablers of progress.

Moreover, the Sol project is expected to attract investment, create jobs, and drive innovation across sectors. Cloud providers, AI startups, and data-intensive industries will naturally be drawn to regions with top-tier connectivity. As new digital corridors open, Portugal and particularly its island regions can seize this momentum to develop technology ecosystems, training programs, and smart infrastructure.

The era of undersea cables is not over; it is accelerating. And Portugal, once again, finds itself at the center of Atlantic routes, this time not for ships or spices, but for information, intelligence, and innovation.

The message is clear: the future of Europe’s digital resilience and transatlantic data flow may not lie solely in its capitals, but in the clouds and cables anchored in the middle of the ocean.

Author

Paulo Lopes is a multi-talent Portuguese citizen who made his Master of Economics in Switzerland and studied law at Lusófona in Lisbon - CEO of Casaiberia in Lisbon and Algarve.

Paulo Lopes