The goal is to strengthen international connectivity and promote the positioning of the Dominican Republic as a regional hub for artificial intelligence.
SANTO DOMINGO – President Luis Abinader signed Decree 113-26 this Thursday, declaring the construction and establishment of digital exchange ports in the Dominican Republic, as well as the installation, deployment, and operation of submarine cable systems, a high national priority in order to strengthen digital infrastructure and services.
The above is established with the objective of strengthening international connectivity and promoting the positioning of the Dominican Republic as a regional hub for artificial intelligence.
The initiative includes a $500 million investment by Google for the development of the digital exchange hub and the international submarine cable ring, as reported during the event held at the National Palace.
The signing ceremony, held at the National Palace, was led by President Abinader, who stated that “a digital exchange hub will place the Dominican Republic at the center of information exchange between North, Central, and South America, and will facilitate the country’s capacity to create innovation in artificial intelligence. We are extending to the world the roots of a smart, innovative, and sovereign nation.”.
He also added that the initiative is open to collaboration from all sectors, in coordination with the actions of the Government and civil society, in pursuit of greater international connectivity for the country.
The Dominican Republic is at the center of AI exchange between North, South and Central America
Brian Quigley , Vice President of Global Network Infrastructure at Google, explained that the initiative aims to develop the necessary base infrastructure for the Dominican Republic to consolidate itself as a strategic point in the exchange of artificial intelligence between North, South and Central America, strengthening its position within the regional technological ecosystem .
Quigley explained that the project envisions the creation of a digital exchange port in Dominican territory, conceived as a world-class facility, which will serve as a platform for the flow and processing of data linked to artificial intelligence.
He also reported that the initiative includes the installation of the first submarine cable network that will directly connect the country with two artificial intelligence centers in the United States, allowing for a more robust, direct, and efficient connection with high-level technological infrastructures.
"Artificial intelligence is accelerating progress on an unprecedented scale, and infrastructure is the foundation that ensures the digital divide does not become an AI gap. This digital exchange port and international submarine cable ring will be a major step toward increasing connectivity, accelerating economic growth, and strengthening the resilience of the Dominican Republic's digital connectivity."
High internet traffic
José Ignacio Paliza, Minister of the Presidency, highlighted that “internet traffic growth in the Dominican Republic is estimated to have exceeded 500% in the last five years, with more than 35% of our traffic originating from the United States.” However, there are currently only a couple of fiber optic cables on a single cable that directly connects the country to the United States.
Furthermore, although six international cables connect to the Dominican Republic, several of them are over 20 years old and nearing the end of their lifespan. Modernizing international connectivity is essential to achieving the vision of transforming the country into a regional hub for artificial intelligence development.
Connectivity at the highest level
During the ceremony, Google announced it will establish a digital exchange hub and an international submarine cable ring connecting the Dominican Republic to the continental United States, the first of its kind for the country. This represents a milestone in the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (ENIA) and the Meta RD 2036 initiative.
It is Google's eighth digital port in the world and the first in Latin America
Google's Director of Global Infrastructure, Cristian Ramos, reported that this is Google's eighth port in the world and the first in Latin America that is under construction, as part of a global network supported by three fundamental pillars: reach, reliability and resilience.
In that sense, he explained that, in terms of scope, the goal is for a larger population to have access to state-of-the-art services and content; reliability guarantees the permanent continuity of these services to avoid interruptions to users; while resilience focuses on the ability to recover quickly from possible failures.
He also said that the development of this infrastructure is governed by three principles: sustainability in the efficient use of energy resources, the seabed and the territory; and an open Internet, which allows these investments, although initially driven by Google, to be available to other players in the telecommunications market.
Strategic pillars of Google's infrastructure investment
Scope – Increased global connectivity
• Development of an open and neutral international digital exchange port in the Dominican Republic, with the capacity to host four new international submarine cables.
• A threefold increase in the number of direct cables to the continental United States , going from one to three direct cables.
• Tenfold increase in the number of fiber pairs that connect directly to the continental United States.
• Low-latency connectivity to Google Cloud regions that offer the most advanced artificial intelligence services.
Reliability – Diversification of infrastructure and improvement of internet stability
• Development of the first international submarine cable ring to the continental United States from the Dominican Republic.
• Diversified connectivity from the Dominican Republic to two Google Cloud regions.
Resilience – Use of technology to enable rapid recovery of internet service
• Real-time switching between international cables in case of failures, to improve the resilience of national connectivity.
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