What each country and landing point keeps if Sovetskaya Gavan-Uglegorsk goes down. A calculation from our cable and landing-point database, not a forecast.
Uglegorsk, Russia: no other cable lands within 50 km.
On an island this means losing the submarine link; on the mainland traffic can still go over land.
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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.
About the Sovetskaya Gavan-Uglegorsk Cable System
Sovetskaya Gavan-Uglegorsk: A regional submarine cable in Russia
The Sovetskaya Gavan-Uglegorsk submarine cable is a relatively short fiber-optic system connecting two locations in Russia's Far East: Sovetskaya Gavan and Uglegorsk. Owned by Rostelecom, this cable was recorded as ready for service in 2019, according to GeoCables data. It is listed as in service and forms part of the local telecommunications infrastructure in the region.
What makes this cable interesting is its limited geographical scope and the lack of publicly disclosed technical details. While many submarine cables are designed for international connectivity or intercontinental data traffic, Sovetskaya Gavan-Uglegorsk appears to serve a more localized purpose. The absence of information on its design capacity, fiber pairs, supplier, and technology leaves several aspects of its construction and operation unclear, making it difficult to assess its full role in the region's telecommunications network.
The cable connects Sovetskaya Gavan and Uglegorsk, both located in Russia's Khabarovsk Krai region. Sovetskaya Gavan is a port city on the coast of the Sea of Japan, while Uglegorsk lies inland. The 127 km distance suggests that the cable primarily traverses the seabed near the coast, with landings at these two points. This route is entirely domestic and does not cross international boundaries.
Sovetskaya Gavan is also a landing site for another submarine cable, Sovetskaya Gavan-Ilyinskoye, which may provide additional redundancy or connectivity options in the area.
Why it was built and what it carries
The Sovetskaya Gavan-Uglegorsk cable was likely constructed to enhance regional connectivity within Khabarovsk Krai. Given its relatively short length and domestic route, it is reasonable to assume that its primary purpose is to support local telecommunications, including internet access, voice services, and possibly enterprise data traffic. Rostelecom, the owner, is a major Russian telecommunications provider, and this cable may form part of its broader strategy to improve infrastructure in less densely populated regions.
Publicly available information does not specify the types of traffic carried by this cable, nor does it confirm whether it is part of a larger network initiative in the region.
History: what can be established
GeoCables data records the cable's ready-for-service year as 2019. No conflicting dates have been identified in industry sources, suggesting that this is the most reliable figure available. However, the absence of detailed public documentation about its construction timeline, supplier, and initial deployment leaves the history of this cable somewhat opaque.
Capacity and technology
No public information is available regarding the design capacity, number of fiber pairs, or the specific technology used in the Sovetskaya Gavan-Uglegorsk cable. Without operator documentation or reliable third-party sources, these aspects remain unknown. This lack of transparency is not unusual for smaller or regional cables, which often receive less attention than larger international systems.
Latency: the physics
The computed theoretical latency for the cable, based on its 127 km length, is approximately 0.6 milliseconds one-way and 1.2 milliseconds round-trip. These values represent the floor for light propagation through fiber, assuming speeds between 200,000 and 204,000 km/s. Actual latency for end-to-end communication would be higher due to factors such as land tails, terminal equipment, and routing through additional network nodes.
No live latency measurements are available for this cable, so its real-world performance cannot be assessed directly.
Redundancy: what happens if it breaks
In the event of a failure, the Sovetskaya Gavan-Uglegorsk cable may rely on redundancy provided by other infrastructure in the region. Sovetskaya Gavan is a landing point for the Sovetskaya Gavan-Ilyinskoye cable, which could potentially serve as an alternative route for data traffic. However, the extent to which these systems are interconnected is not publicly documented.
Repair logistics for submarine cables typically involve specialized vessels and equipment to locate, retrieve, and fix the damaged section. Given the cable's relatively short length and domestic route, repairs would likely be less complex than for longer international systems.
Bottom line
The Sovetskaya Gavan-Uglegorsk cable is a 127 km submarine system connecting two locations in Russia's Far East.
Owned by Rostelecom, it was recorded as ready for service in 2019 and is currently listed as in service.
Technical details such as design capacity, fiber pairs, supplier, and technology have not been disclosed.
Theoretical latency is approximately 0.6 ms one-way and 1.2 ms round-trip, but real-world performance is unknown.
Redundancy may be provided by the Sovetskaya Gavan-Ilyinskoye cable, but this is not confirmed.