The Tenerife Cabildo has launched a new initiative to ensure the island’s digital connectivity remains resilient against power outages, like the one experienced in mainland Spain last April. The plan involves strengthening backup power systems that supply the technical centers managing the submarine cables connecting the Canary Islands to the rest of the world.
Insular President Rosa Dávila emphasized the importance of this measure, stating, “We can’t allow an incident outside our borders to leave us disconnected again.” Consequently, a preventive and corrective maintenance contract for electrical generators and auxiliary systems—such as fuel tanks and automatic transfer panels—has been approved through Canalink, the public company responsible for connectivity infrastructure.
A critical network to safeguard essential services
The goal is clear: ensure the continuous operation of vital services such as 112 emergency calls, healthcare, internet access, telephony, and inter-administration communications, even during critical scenarios where power is interrupted. Dávila indicated that “the system guarantees that backup systems activate automatically and safely in the event of a power cut.”
The contract, with a budget of €133,000 and initially set for two years (renewable for an additional three), is divided into three lots: the technical centers of Canalink located in Güímar (Tenerife), El Goro, and Nobel (Gran Canaria), plus strategic sites in mainland Spain—Rota, Conil, and Santa Justa (Andalusia). These sites house the equipment that keeps the international connectivity network operational, through which millions of calls, data, and internet access are routed daily.
Canaries as a strategic digital hub
Insular Innovation Councillor Juan José Martínez highlighted that this “silent yet essential” network enables everything to keep functioning, even during electrical failures. “We must prevent external incidents from cutting off our connection or access to basic services again,” he said.
Martínez recalled that Canalink is a public, neutral, and independent operator created by the Tenerife Cabildo under the ALiXCanarias project. Its mission is to ensure communication between the Archipelago and the mainland via broadband submarine cables. Today, it manages a network linking the Canaries to Europe, Africa, and America, offering access to over 35,000 kilometers of fiber optics and more than 20 countries.
Thanks to its strategic location and access to multiple international Points of Presence (PoPs), Canalink directly connects the Canaries to major digital infrastructures in the northern and southern hemispheres, significantly improving the performance, speed, and security of the islands’ digital services.
Preparing for the unexpected
The power outage on April 28 that affected crucial digital services in the Canary Islands for hours prompted this preventative action. “We are investing in technological resilience,” Martínez affirmed. “So that regardless of what happens externally, the Canary Islands remain connected, operational, and protected.”
This initiative consolidates the Cabildo’s commitment to a robust and autonomous digital infrastructure capable of withstanding not only technical setbacks but also geopolitical and climatic risks that could disrupt global networks.
In an increasingly interconnected world, where digital connectivity is as vital as electricity or water supplies, safeguarding the network is equivalent to protecting the present and future of the Canary Islands.