What each country and landing point keeps if Sape-Labuan Bajo-Ende-Kupang goes down. A calculation from our cable and landing-point database, not a forecast.
Every landing point of this cable has another cable within 50 km.
No alerts from our monitoring on this cable in the last 180 days. Events feed →
Counted: other international cables landing in the same country (domestic cables between points of one country are not a way out), other cables at landing points within 50 km, and whether the country has land links. Not counted: cable capacity, operator contracts and satellite. Use as a first look at dependence, not as a statement of what would happen.
Live Performance
15
measurements
6
probes
63
days monitored
265.5
ms avg RTT
0
anomalies
Monitored from 2026-07-11 through 2026-09-13 - live ICMP round-trip time measurements via our monitoring probes. All values below are recomputed daily from raw probe data. ✓ No anomalies detected in the monitored period.
Measurement sources
Probe
Location
Samples
Avg
Min-Max
Last seen
#6410 own probe
Sao Paulo BR
4
383.5 ms
380.9-386.9
2026-09-13
#6427 own probe
Sydney AU
4
238.1 ms
123.8-352.5
2026-09-13
own probe
Almaty KZ
3
307.3 ms
304.5-312.6
2026-09-13
#6487
control probe
2
31.5 ms
31.5-31.6
2026-08-22
own probe
Minsk BY
1
278.0 ms
278.0-278.0
2026-07-11
own probe
Tbilisi GE
1
233.6 ms
233.6-233.6
2026-07-11
About the Sape-Labuan Bajo-Ende-Kupang Cable System
Sape-Labuan Bajo-Ende-Kupang: connecting eastern Indonesia
The Sape-Labuan Bajo-Ende-Kupang submarine cable is a 474-kilometer fiber optic system linking four locations in eastern Indonesia: Sape, Labuan Bajo, Ende, and Kupang. Owned by Moratelindo, it is listed as in service and was recorded as ready for service (RFS) in 2021 according to GeoCables database records. This cable is part of Indonesia's growing telecommunications infrastructure, aimed at improving connectivity in the less-developed eastern regions of the archipelago.
What stands out about this cable is the lack of publicly disclosed technical details, including its design capacity, fiber pair count, supplier, and specific technology. While this is not uncommon for smaller regional cables, it limits the ability to assess its full capabilities. Additionally, the cable operates in a corridor with several overlapping systems, raising questions about redundancy and the role of this cable in the broader network.
The cable connects four landing points in Indonesia: Sape, Labuan Bajo, Ende, and Kupang. These locations are situated in the Lesser Sunda Islands, with Sape on the eastern tip of Sumbawa, Labuan Bajo on the western part of Flores, Ende further east on Flores, and Kupang on the western coast of Timor. This route provides connectivity across islands that are geographically close but separated by deep ocean channels, making submarine cables essential for reliable telecommunications.
Why it was built and what it carries
The Sape-Labuan Bajo-Ende-Kupang cable was likely built to enhance connectivity in eastern Indonesia, a region historically underserved in terms of telecommunications infrastructure. By linking multiple islands, it supports local internet service providers, mobile operators, and enterprise networks. While the cable’s design capacity is not disclosed, it is reasonable to assume that it caters to regional demand for broadband and data services, helping bridge the digital divide between eastern Indonesia and more developed areas.
History: what can be established
GeoCables database records the cable as ready for service in 2021. No conflicting dates have been surfaced from industry sources, but the absence of detailed public documentation makes it difficult to verify this timeline independently. Moratelindo, the owner, is a prominent Indonesian telecommunications company with experience in deploying submarine cables, which lends credibility to the reported operational status.
Capacity and technology
The design capacity, fiber pair count, supplier, and specific technology used in the Sape-Labuan Bajo-Ende-Kupang cable are not publicly disclosed. Without operator documentation, attributing specific figures would be speculative. It is unclear whether the cable employs advanced technologies such as wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) or coherent optics, which are standard in larger international cables but may not always be necessary for regional systems.
Latency: the physics
The theoretical one-way light propagation latency over the 474 km wet segment is approximately 2.3 milliseconds, with a round-trip time (RTT) floor of 4.6 milliseconds. However, real-world latency is higher due to additional factors such as land-based fiber tails, terminal equipment, and routing inefficiencies. Live measurements conducted via remote probes show significantly higher RTTs to Sape, ranging from 31.5 ms (Singapore) to 384.9 ms (Sao Paulo). These figures reflect the full internet path, including terrestrial and intercontinental segments, rather than the cable itself.
Redundancy: what happens if it breaks
The corridor served by the Sape-Labuan Bajo-Ende-Kupang cable has several overlapping systems, including the Mataram Kupang Cable System (MKCS), Kupang-Alor Cable Systems, and Palapa Ring East. In particular, Ende and Kupang host multiple cables, providing redundancy in case of outages. Repairing submarine cables typically involves deploying specialized cable ships to locate, retrieve, and fix the damaged section, a process that can take weeks depending on the severity of the fault and weather conditions.
Bottom line
The Sape-Labuan Bajo-Ende-Kupang cable spans 474 km and connects four locations in eastern Indonesia.
It is owned by Moratelindo and was recorded as ready for service in 2021.
Technical specifications such as design capacity, fiber pairs, supplier, and technology are not publicly disclosed.
Theoretical latency over the wet segment is approximately 4.6 ms RTT, but real-world measurements reflect higher values due to additional factors.
Redundancy is provided by overlapping cables in the corridor, such as MKCS and Palapa Ring East.