LONDON, March 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR), the world’s largest cloud- and carrier-neutral data center platform, today announced its entry into Portugal through the acquisition of a data center facility in Lisbon. This expansion enhances the company’s global data center footprint and reinforces its commitment to enabling seamless connectivity across key international markets.
The Lisbon facility is expected to support up to 2.4 MW of IT load and represents a critical addition to Digital Realty’s Southern European footprint. Multiple strategic network service providers are already connected to the facility, underscoring its immediate interconnection value. Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal is rapidly emerging as a key global digital and interconnection hub, supported by extensive industry investment in subsea cable infrastructure that connects Europe with North America, South America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
Lisbon serves as Europe’s Atlantic gateway, offering low-latency connectivity to the Americas and reinforcing the continent’s transcontinental data routes. Previously, subsea-related deployments were routed through Digital Realty’s facilities in Madrid; however, by establishing a facility in Lisbon, Digital Realty will reduce latency and bring its customers closer to the subsea cable landing infrastructure. The city is uniquely positioned as the only location in Europe with direct subsea connectivity to South America, while also acting as a gateway hub for West Africa and adding diversity to the Mediterranean subsea network. Today, 16 subsea cables land in Portugal, the majority near Lisbon.
“Adding Portugal to our portfolio represents a key piece of our Iberian strategy,” said Paula Cogan, Managing Director EMEA, Digital Realty. “With its unique subsea connectivity and position as Europe’s Atlantic gateway, Lisbon adds meaningful diversity and resilience to regional data flows, while simultaneously complementing our existing presence in Madrid and Barcelona. This expansion strengthens interconnection across our platform and gives customers unparalleled choice and agility as they scale their businesses globally.”
Digital Realty’s selected site will be the closest data center to the submarine cable landings in Carcavelos, enabling it to support landing solutions and host termination equipment for subsea cable infrastructure. This strategic location brings enhanced infrastructure resilience and diversity to the Lisbon market while meeting growing demand for secure, scalable, and low-latency digital infrastructure.
Digital Realty’s Lisbon data center will be interconnected via subsea cables with the company’s campuses in Accra, Ghana; Lagos, Nigeria; and Cape Town; South Africa, further strengthening digital corridors between Europe and Africa. In addition to the acquired facility, which is expected to be ready for service in early 2027, Digital Realty is laying the groundwork for long-term scalability through future expansion and campus development plans, creating a hub for connected communities and an expanded interconnection ecosystem.
Digital Realty’s entry into Portugal will complement its established presence in Spain, where the company operates four data centers in Madrid, the primary inland digital hub of Southern Europe, and expects to launch service in Barcelona in mid-2026, a key Mediterranean gateway with strong subsea connectivity to Africa, the Middle East, and beyond. Together, Lisbon, Madrid, and Barcelona form the most interconnected regional platform in the Iberian Peninsula, driving seamless global data flows and creating a best-in-class Southern European digital ecosystem.
The rapid growth of AI workloads is reshaping global data flows, and Lisbon is emerging as a natural gateway between continents. Anchored by its access to major subsea cable systems and regional connectivity, the city is well positioned to host next-generation AI infrastructure, supporting scalable data movement and distributed inference across international markets.
About Digital Realty
Digital Realty brings companies and data together by delivering the full spectrum of data center, colocation, and interconnection solutions. PlatformDIGITAL®, the company’s global data center platform, provides customers with a secure data meeting place and a proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx®) solution methodology for powering innovation, from cloud and digital transformation to emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), and efficiently managing Data Gravity challenges. Digital Realty gives its customers access to the connected data communities that matter to them with a global data center footprint of 300+ facilities in 55+ metros across 30+ countries on six continents. To learn more about Digital Realty, please visit digitalrealty.com or follow us on LinkedIn and X.
For Additional Information
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Digital Realty
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Digital Realty
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Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially, including statements related to the company's development plans, company strategy, including its strategy in the Mediterranean, and customer demand. For a list and description of risks and uncertainties, see the reports and other filings by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
