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agenda

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  1. The Caribbean and Central American market is dynamic and rapidly growing, with new cloud regions opening in Chile and Colombia over the last 12 months. Coupled with the global AI boom, CALA will continue to see rapid growth; underpinning this is the investment in critical digital infrastructure made by the region's operators. This session will discuss:

     

    • How operators are evaluating the growth opportunity from AI across key markets in CALA
    • What investments in new fibre and data centres are planned to support growing digital economies?
    • What challenges stand in the way of growth, and how can we overcome them?
  2. We have seen numerous cables announced in the region, including Carnival and LN-1. Driven by growing digital economies, new cloud regions, ageing infrastructure and growing government awareness and support, subsea is seeing a boom.This session will discuss:

    • How are operators making the business case for recent subsea cables, and how is the number of announced systems impacting the returns on planned cables?
    • How are emerging hubs, like Martinique, working to attract cables and build a local ecosystem?
    • How are planned upgrades unlocking new returns on existing systems? And will they undermine the case for new systems?
  3. Networking Lunch
  4. The 2024 hurricane season is predicted to be severe and sits within a landscape of climate change, causing worsening natural disasters. Connectivity and digital infrastructure are vital to recovery efforts, and the economic impacts of damaged infrastructure are severe. This session will discuss:

    • How operators are hardening existing infrastructure from landing stations to data centres
    • The role of satellite connectivity in supporting recovery efforts and supporting connectivity in the face of cable cuts
    • How the risk of worsening climate effects is impacting the business case for digital infrastructure in the Caribbean
  5. Globally, the data centre industry faces a power crisis with more planned DC capacity than available power. Coupled with an AI-driven boom, the power crisis will only worsen. This dynamic is in play in the CALA region, although some geographies with available power will see increasing investment. This session will discuss:

     

    • The markets where power is available for future data centre deployments
    • Which future workloads with lower latency requirements, like training large language models, can drive demand across the region?
    • How construction and design are pivoting to mitigate power constraints
  6. Resilient data centre connectivity is a must and has been a driving factor in several subsea cables like Gold Data's GD-1 targeting Quer'taro and key carriers like Cirion making significant investments to connect data centres. With key markets such as Costa Rica and Colombia providing green power and attracting more investment, carriers must ensure fibre connectivity isn't the limited factor in data centre growth. This session will discuss: The importance of carrier neutrality to data centre operators when ensuring fibre connectivity The balance of terrestrial and subsea connectivity in connecting DC clusters, especially back to the US Upcoming projects connecting key data centres and the impact they will have on those markets
  7. Satellite has always played a key role in connecting rural and island communities. With growing fleets of LEO satellites and the adoption of standards to more closely integrate with terrestrial networks, this session will discuss:

     

    • How will satellite operators' adoption of MEF standards revolutionise its role and bring terrestrial and non-terrestrial operators closer together?
    • The additional roles of satellite connectivity across the region in connecting rural communities and for disaster recovery
    • The impact of the current and upcoming LEO constellations
  8. In recent years, we've seen multiple IXPs announced and opened across the region, from Mexico and Panama to Guatemala and Peru. These new exchanges promise to increase internet resiliency, improve customer experience, and support local ecosystems. This session will discuss:

     

    • The drivers behind recently announced new exchanges
    • The importance of exchanges being hosted in an operator-neutral environment
    • Where we're likely to see high traffic and strong local ecosystems emerge
  9. Home to several older but underutilised Subsea cables, the Caribbean is a challenging market for operators. With small island nations dependent on subsea, connectivity is vital. As systems age, key stakeholders want new ones, but with difficult business cases, the debate is centring around what end of life means as the old 25-year rule continues to bend. This session will discuss:

    • Looking beyond the typical commercial life of a system, how long can islands physically rely on older systems?
    • What is the state of critical older infrastructure, such as MAYA-1?
    • How long can upgrades continue to extend the utility of old systems as we approach the Shannon Limit?
  10. Colombia is the 3rd largest nation in Latin America by population and a growing hub for digital services. With 46.7 million people and 76 million mobile subscribers, Colombia is one of the largest telecom markets in Latin America. Seeing growing investment in the FTTH and data centre verticals, Colombia's growth is set to continue, despite challenges around the 5G spectrum cap. This session will discuss:

     

    • The opportunities and challenges for operators seeking to capitalise on Colombia's digital boom, including the impact of Oracle's new cloud region.
    • The dynamics of FTTH investment, from Claro's $25m investment to Movistar passing 1.2 million homes
    • The challenges of connecting Bogota's data centres to cables landing in Barranquilla
  11. Join us for an interactive session focused on connectivity resilience for island communities. The session will open with a panel before breaking out into roundtables. Sharing insights for the recent Suboptic study and providing the opportunity for discussion through roundtables, this session is a must-attend for anyone connecting the Caribbean!