Major Telecom Investment for the Canary Islands
CanaLink, the public telecommunications operator owned by the Tenerife Island Council, yesterday unveiled an ambitious €70 million expansion plan. This massive investment—€69.8 million to be exact—aims to significantly upgrade the digital infrastructure connecting the Canary Islands. The project focuses on two primary goals: reinforcing the existing undersea cable network that links the islands to each other and to mainland Europe and Africa, and expanding the company’s operations into the province of Las Palmas.
A Three-Pronged Project for Enhanced Connectivity
The plan will materialize through three key infrastructure projects. First, a new cable will be deployed between Tenerife and El Hierro. Second, two separate cables will be laid between Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote. Finally, a new branch will connect the network to Tarfaya in Morocco. The result will be a more robust, competitive, and secure telecommunications network for the entire archipelago. This enhanced resilience is crucial to preventing system-wide blackouts and helps address the “technological emergency” declared by the Canary Islands Government on July 1st, which is initially set to remain in effect until the end of the year.
More Than Just an Island Network
CanaLink’s infrastructure extends far beyond the Canary Islands. As part of international consortia like ACE (Africa Coast to Europe)—a massive submarine cable system running along the west coast of Africa—its network is a vital data gateway. This infrastructure is used by ICT (Information and Communication Technology) companies, data centers, and even public institutions. The company’s current assets include a data center in the Canaries, seven technical centers elsewhere in Spain, nine points of presence across Europe, and 16 Europe-Africa routes, all supported by kilometers of undersea cables facilitating a constant, massive flow of data.
The 2026 Deployment Timeline
The new inter-island cables and the link to Tarfaya will be added to this existing framework, with works scheduled for completion in 2026. To meet this deadline, CanaLink has proactively secured a “cable ship,” a specialized and costly vessel responsible for laying the new lines on the seabed. With the ship now contracted, the cable deployment is set to begin in just over a month and a half, at the start of 2026.
Building the “Ring” Around the Eastern Isles
Work will commence in the waters around Fuerteventura, an area identified as having significant connectivity needs, as confirmed by CanaLink’s CEO, Rubén Molowny. This marks the first step in creating “The Ring,” a project designed to provide “robust, secure, and high-speed connectivity” to the three islands of the Las Palmas province. In early Q2 of 2026, the two cables forming the ring will be laid—one along the eastern side of Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote, and the other along the western side.
Gateway to the African Market
The eastern side of this ring will also be the launch point for the optical fiber branch connecting to Tarfaya, Morocco—a project that has received strong support from Moroccan authorities. This link is expected to multiply demand from telecom operators by opening the door to the African market. This forward-thinking business vision has already enabled CanaLink to progressively increase its annual turnover to around €20 million.
Ending Tenerife-El Hierro Dependency
The other major project is the 245-kilometer cable between Tenerife and El Hierro. This new link will end the current dependency on the single cable that serves this route, providing vital redundancy and capacity. Both Rosa Dávila, President of the Tenerife Island Council, and Juan José Martínez, Councillor for Innovation, emphasized that CanaLink has been instrumental in creating a broadband network that performs “above the European average.” As Martínez highlighted, “The connectivity of Tenerife is also the connectivity of the Canaries,” underscoring the project’s archipelago-wide importance.
