Data Centers in Puerto Barrios

Puerto Barrios – Central America's Caribbean Subsea Gateway

Puerto Barrios is the essential choice for operators requiring direct access to international subsea fiber and specialized cable landing station infrastructure. It serves as a critical bridge between Central America and global markets, prioritizing low-latency transit to secure regional data sovereignty. This location is a strategic necessity for organizations that need high-speed connectivity to North America and Europe via the Caribbean coast.

Puerto Barrios: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: Carrier count: under 5 as of September 2025. The connectivity environment is specialized and concentrated around the cable landing station. While the provider count is lower than in major metro hubs, the focus here is on high-capacity international handoffs managed through major global networks.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: Over 0, enabling access to 0 cloud regions as of September 2025. There are no direct native on-ramps for AWS, Google Cloud (GCP), or Microsoft Azure in the immediate coastal area. Most traffic routes via private transport or wave services to reach regional cloud gateways in Guatemala City.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): Public peering is minimal in this coastal zone; most traffic exchange occurs privately at the cable landing station or through the national exchange in Guatemala City to the southwest.

Bare Metal: Resilient bare metal services are available through regional providers and global specialists like Latitude.sh or Hivelocity who can deploy purpose-built compute near the landing points.

Power Analysis

Average Cost Of Power: Industrial electricity is priced at US$0.09/kWh as of December 2024. This price point is highly competitive for Central America, and the grid relies on a diverse mix of 70% renewables and 30% fossil fuels. This stable cost structure provides a predictable baseline for high-density cooling requirements.

Power Grid Reliability: The local grid in this industrial corridor is supported by redundant transmission lines serving the port and maritime infrastructure. Data center facilities here use dedicated substations to ensure consistent delivery to mission-critical hardware.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data center assets are situated near the Port of Puerto Barrios and Santo Tomas de Castilla. This proximity is vital for logistics, maritime, and trade-heavy industries that depend on real-time data processing for global supply chains.

Regional Market Reach: Puerto Barrios is the primary Caribbean gateway for Guatemala, serving as the digital entry point for the nation and providing a low-latency bridge to other Central American markets.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: The market operates under a standard fiscal regime without specific data center carve-outs. Business owners should focus on the operational efficiency and subsea access of the site rather than local tax breaks to justify the investment.

Natural Disaster Risk

The overall risk for Puerto Barrios is High (5.3/10) as of September 2025. Given its geographic profile, the location requires rigorous disaster recovery planning and hardened facility design.

• Earthquake (9.5): Extremely high seismic risk necessitates advanced structural dampening and strict building code compliance.
• Tsunami (6.8): High risk due to coastal proximity; facilities are typically elevated to mitigate surge.
• River Flood (4.2): Moderate risk during peak rainy seasons requiring purpose-built site drainage.
• Tropical Cyclone (3.7): Seasonal risk from Caribbean storms is managed through hardened exterior shells and redundant power systems.
• Coastal Flood (3.7): Moderate risk; site selection usually favors higher ground inland from the immediate shoreline.

Other natural hazards like drought and epidemic are considered minor or indirect risks to local infrastructure.