One Undersea Fibre Optic Cable Severed by Flores Earthquake

One undersea fibre optic cable connecting the telecommunications network of Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), with other regions outside the island was severed by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake on Saturday (15/8/2026). However, this did not cut off telecommunications services to and from Flores.

“Flores Island is connected to the outside world through four submarine cables. Of these four submarine cables, one was severed due to the earthquake, but this did not disrupt services to Flores because there is a ring 3, so transmission from Flores Island to the outside is not disturbed,” said Telkom President Director Dian Siswarini during a cross-ministerial coordination meeting on the Flores earthquake response in Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, on Sunday (16/8/2026).

In addition to the undersea fibre optic cable, she said, there are also land-based fibre optic cables that were severed due to landslides triggered by the earthquake. “Repairs are currently underway,” Dian said.

“The areas that are currently most likely still unserved are Nagekeo and East Manggarai; repairs are being carried out,” she added.

Dian explained that telecommunications signals in Flores have largely been restored. Only around 15 percent remain without telecommunications signal. The restoration of the telecommunications network also depends on the restoration of the electricity network by PLN.

“Because Telkom’s lifeline is highly dependent on PLN, and now most of it has recovered, only around 12-15 percent of the signal remains unavailable,” Dian explained.