Why this is important to Wisconsin businesses: The region, especially Chile, is becoming an attractive destination for innovation and technology investment, which could be of interest to Wisconsin tech-based companies looking to expand abroad.
Chile is becoming a hotspot for advanced technology and broadband—in Latin America and beyond.
Equinix, a digital infrastructure company based in Redwood City, California, acquired four data centers in Chile in May and has signed an agreement to buy a data center in Peru.
The transactions expand Equinix’s operations in Latin America, which already include 11 International Business Exchange data centers in Mexico, Brazil and Colombia.
The data centers in Chile are in or near the capital city of Santiago, which is increasingly seen as a data and technology hub.
“We continue to see demand from businesses in Latin America across all sectors looking to transform their operations to be digital and cloud-enabled. Equinix’s expansion into Chile and Peru accelerates digital transformation opportunities in this rapidly growing region and is a critical step in our long-term strategy to broaden digital access for our customers globally,” said Tara Risser, president of Equinix Americas.
Chile is the fourth-largest economy in the region, with the highest gross domestic product per capita in South America. The city of Santiago is emerging as a technology hub, serving both regional cloud and content demand as well as local enterprises.
A recent study by Uswitch, a UK-based price comparison site, found that Chile boasts the fastest average internet connection of the 37 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), followed by Denmark and the U.S.
The average Chilean broadband connection can download a movie in just over a minute, which is seven times faster than the slowest country, which is Turkey.
Wisconsin technology companies may wish to consider pursuing opportunities in Latin America, particularly Chile.
