With new projects in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia, Equinix is advancing its strategy to strengthen Latin American digital infrastructure.
The investments include the already announced MO2 in Monterrey, and the new announcements of RJ3 in Rio de Janeiro and the SP6 and SP7 data centers in São Paulo.
In Brazil, the company defends ReData’s role as an engine for the sector, including the construction industry.
In an interview with BNamericas, Equinix’s LatAm president, Eduardo Zago de Carvalho, highlighted that “decentralization is the future” of the sector, stating that the country is moving towards a more distributed and competitive interconnection model – and it is as a connection point from major metropolitan areas that the company wants to support this movement.
BNamericas: You launched the MO2 site last week. How is the operation going in Monterrey and what are the growth prospects?
Carvalho: It’s a data center that is operational, with active clients. The growth prospects for Monterrey are quite positive, exceeding initial expectations, mainly due to its proximity to Dallas and the interconnection provided by Fabric, which should attract even more business.
BNamericas: And what about expansions in Brazil?
Carvalho: We are announcing RJ3 [in Rio de Janeiro], an important step to consolidate our presence in Rio. I would say that RJ3 is already almost fully booked due to the demand we have been experiencing. We have seen a very high demand for bookings.
In São Paulo, SP7 is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2026, taking into account all necessary civil engineering considerations and potential unforeseen circumstances. Also in São Paulo, SP6 will be inaugurated later this year, and both data centers will become operational within roughly the same 12-month period, strengthening our main market in Latin America.
The most interesting thing, Pedro, is that in both cases we have a pipeline.
For both, we have a very good forecast. I would say that SP6 will be generating revenue as early as January 2026. The same applies to SP7. We have deals being worked on by the sales team that will be allocated to SP7.
São Paulo is our main market in Latin America.
[Editor’s note: Equinix announced it has leased over 4MW of capacity in the São Paulo region in the third quarter of 2025, compared to the previous quarter.]
BNamericas: Are SP6 and SP7 projects for hyperscalers or retail?
Carvalho: Both are geared towards retail. There may be changes, especially in the SP7, due to energy load and the potential demand from eventual large clients, but the intention is to maintain the focus on retail, as we believe in the strength of the ecosystem and the faster financial return of this model.
BNamericas: How do you assess the movement of telecom operators entering, or returning to invest in, the data center segment?
Carvalho: Indeed, some operators are looking to strengthen their presence in the sector and are evaluating whether or not to build their own data centers. However, developing a relevant ecosystem takes time and requires experience in management and global scale, which brings many benefits to cross-selling. This is still a challenge for these companies and, on the other hand, a great asset for us.
I view this competition with caution. I believe that, in five years, we will see consolidation. If the operators don’t spin off and bring everything under the same umbrella, they will fall into the same problems of the past, such as call handling times and the flow of retail telecom customers.
A data center is a different animal: you can’t just manage it because you have an internet connection; you need to know how to operate data centers.
BNamericas: In the midst of all this, there’s [Brazil’s special data center tax regime] ReData. What’s your assessment of the tax regime and its impact on the market?
Carvalho: ReData is a major step towards consolidating Brazil as one of the main global data center hubs, accelerating both the sector and the construction industry. This is very important because the construction industry drives employment in the country.
If you look at the data center market without considering the construction industry coupled with it, you’re making a mistake. ReData targets the data center sector, but it also hits the mark in the construction industry, bringing traction not only to the digital economy but also to the economy in general, and taking advantage of Brazil’s solid and clean energy matrix.
BNamericas: There are criticisms that the data center sector generates few jobs after construction.
Carvalho: In the retail model, there is more job creation because it involves a multidisciplinary team and a layer of services that increase employability. In the hyperscale model, yes, job creation is lower after construction and delivery.
BNamericas: A key aspect of ReData, and of the country’s policy as a whole for the segment, is to decentralize data centers beyond the São Paulo-Rio axis – which is where Equinix’s investment focus is. How can the decentralization of data centers in Brazil occur, and what is Equinix’s role in this?
Carvalho: We strongly believe in this. Decentralization is the future, with the trend of small data centers emerging in different locations, but functioning as interconnection points (Edge), linked to large hubs (Metro Edge) in the main regions. That is Equinix’s role.
BNamericas: In other words, you will participate in this decentralization, but not directly.
Carvalho: Not directly. We will participate as a large interconnection hub. One day, perhaps, we can expand through acquisitions in certain markets that become interesting.
BNamericas: Are there plans to operate in Rio Grande do Sul, especially in Porto Alegre ?
Carvalho: Despite the booming market and the arrival of new submarine cables, there are still no concrete plans for Porto Alegre. The focus remains on the consolidated operations in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, but new opportunities are always being evaluated.
BNamericas: And what about demand and expansion to other countries and markets in Latin America, beyond Mexico, or even Santiago or Bogotá?
Carvalho: We recently inaugurated the second phase of BG2 in Colombia and acquired more land for expansion in the country.
In Mexico, we launched a managed services cell, consolidating our service strategy in the region. It’s the second country in Latin America to have managed services. So, this is a very important milestone for us because it consolidates our narrative of expanding services to other places. Mexico was the second because I insisted a lot on having these services given the problems we have with electricity, especially in Querétaro.
There are also plans to expand into Chile and, cautiously, Peru. We’ve been closely observing Argentina, but very carefully. Perhaps through acquisitions in the future, but not organically for now.
(The original version of this content was written in Portuguese)
