Cabo Verde Telecom (CVTelecom) and internet exchange operator DE-CIX have signed a letter of intent to develop a South Atlantic interconnection corridor linking Lisbon, Portugal, with São Paulo, Brazil, with the Cape Verdean operator positioned as the transport provider between the two endpoints.

The agreement, announced as a preliminary framework rather than a definitive contract, sets out a reciprocal arrangement. CVTelecom plans to supply transport capacity between Lisbon and São Paulo, while DE-CIX intends to open its interconnection ecosystems and services at key locations across Europe and the Americas to the Cape Verdean operator.

Under the planned cooperation, CVTelecom would gain access to DE-CIX services in Frankfurt, Madrid, Marseille, New York and São Paulo. In return, DE-CIX would receive dedicated transatlantic transport capacity on the Lisbon–São Paulo route. The partners have not disclosed the capacity, pricing or timeline of the proposed arrangement. The precise scope, technical implementation and commercial terms remain subject to a definitive agreement that has yet to be negotiated.

The stated rationale is architectural. By adding a route across the South Atlantic, the partners aim to let networks in Southern Europe, West Africa and Latin America exchange data more directly, reducing their dependence on established traffic hubs in Northern Europe and North America. The partners frame this as a contribution to greater resilience, diversity and performance in intercontinental connectivity — a claim consistent with the industry's broader shift toward regional interconnection, though one that will depend heavily on the final capacity commitments and pricing in the definitive agreement.

Geography underpins the logic. Cape Verde sits between Europe, West Africa and the Americas, along major international cable routes. The cooperation is designed to build on that position and on CVTelecom's existing infrastructure to support a more interconnected South Atlantic digital ecosystem.

For DE-CIX, which operates one of the world's largest internet exchange platforms and already runs exchanges in Madrid, Marseille, New York and São Paulo among other locations, the arrangement would supply dedicated transatlantic transport linking two of its footprints directly rather than via Northern European or North American chokepoints. For CVTelecom, a relatively small island-state operator, alignment with a major exchange operator offers a route into premium interconnection markets on both sides of the Atlantic.

The partners say the initiative should serve network operators, internet service providers, content and cloud providers, and enterprises seeking efficient and resilient connectivity between the three regions. They also argue it could strengthen regional access to digital services and help attract further infrastructure and technology investment along the South Atlantic corridor — an expectation that goes beyond what a transport-and-interconnection deal alone would deliver, and which will hinge on subsequent investment decisions by third parties.

The commercial substance of the project — cable capacity, service definitions, pricing and go-live dates — will only become clear when the definitive agreement is signed. Until then, the letter of intent establishes intent and a division of roles: CVTelecom as transport provider, DE-CIX as the interconnection layer on both continents.