WILLEMSTAD – Data infrastructure and cloud services company Continent 8 Technology is set to open a datacenter in the Dutch Caribbean territory of Curaçao, with future launches across Latin America in the pipeline for 2024.

The company said in a statement that it will cut the ribbon on the facility this month, without providing specifics such as capex, location, size or capacity.

Continent 8 labels the project as being “the most advanced multi-tenant tier IV datacenter in the Pan-Caribbean region.”

“The strategic site expansion comes on the heels of numerous transformation initiatives set out by the Curaçao Gaming Control Board, including revising the licensing procedure for operators on the island,” it said.

some Caribbean countries and territories have been moving recently to attract more investment in digital market and telecom infrastructure, with the goal of positioning themselves as strategic data hub and data gateways for the Americas.

That is also the case of Bermuda, which will be one of the landing points for a new submarine cable owned by Google after local authorities relaxed rules for the installation of such equipment.

In Central America, Panama and Costa Rica are other examples of markets attracting the attention of big data companies.

In Curaçao, authorities eased online gambling licenses and the application process to attract a wider range of operators.

“Those looking to seek a license can be assured that they can capitalize on leading services and solutions from Continent 8,” its chief revenue officer, Nick Nally, said.

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Continent 8 reports five sites in Latin America, including Curaçao’s: Lima, Bogotá, Carolina (Puerto Rico) and Monterrey (Mexico).

Colombia marked the company’s arrival in Latin America in 2020. The facility is located inside Equinix’s datacenter, in Bogotá’s free-trade zone.

“Numerous” other launches are planned for 2024, Continent 8 said in the Curaçao announcement, without providing details.

But Brazil and Argentina could be among them, since the company had planned to launch in those countries this year.

Continent 8 does not have routes to either of those countries, nor to Mexico. In these cases, such as in Monterrey, it would likely have to contract capacity on third-party networks, at least initially.

The company said the Curaçao site has direct connectivity to its network of over 100 locations on four continents.

Continent 8 will also offer muti-layered cybersecurity and managed hosting solutions from the site, aiming at both existing and future operators and suppliers.

Bron: Curacao Chronicle