Maspalomas, the economic capital of the Canary Islands, is preparing for a decisive technological leap forward thanks to the deployment of Telefónica's new submarine cable, PENCAN-X, which will connect the Canary Islands with the Iberian Peninsula. This strategic project will guarantee high-capacity connectivity with minimal latency, key to strengthening the digital competitiveness of southern Gran Canaria. PENCAN-X, which will replace one of the existing submarine routes currently in the process of obsolescence, will increase transmission capacity tenfold and will form the backbone of a new digital backbone network. This is especially relevant for destinations like Maspalomas, where the economy relies heavily on connectivity: millions of German and Nordic tourists use mobile and Wi-Fi networks to work, consume content, make reservations, or share their experiences.
Furthermore, this deployment coincides with the growing interest of large tourism groups such as TUI, whose stability and performance are closely linked to the digital infrastructure available in their key destinations. A fast, stable, and resilient network is today as important a selling point as the weather or the beaches. The new cable will also help Maspalomas aspire to become a smart tourism hub, enabling services such as automatic biometric check-in, smart waste management, connected transportation, and real-time monitoring of tourist behavior. It will also improve the response capacity to emergencies or network outages during peak occupancy periods.
The construction of the PENCAN-X—with mooring on the island of Gran Canaria—has been supported by European funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program and the European Union-funded Recovery Plan—Next Generation EU. Its impact will not only be technological, but also structural for the future of the south of the island. The submarine cable will enable the deployment of next-generation fiber not only for hotels, shopping centers, and tourist developments, but also for remote workers, digital nomads, and service SMEs linked to the vacation sector.
In a context of uncertainty in source markets like Germany, strengthening the destination's digitalization is a strategy for economic protection. Maspalomas, with infrastructure such as the ExpoMeloneras Convention Center, is also positioned to attract MICE tourism (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions), which requires robust and reliable connectivity. With this investment, the Canary Islands are not only approaching the connectivity standards of the European continent, but are also opening up a new era of opportunities to transform its tourism model from Maspalomas to the rest of the archipelago.
