Mercator: 1.62× baseline latency
What we measured
| Cable | Mercator |
| Segment | Broadstairs, GB → Ostend, BE |
| Detected | 2026-09-19 17:31 UTC |
| Resolved | 2026-09-19 18:33 UTC |
| Duration | 1h 1m |
| Observed latency | 83 ms |
| Baseline | 51.4 ms · 1.62× |
| Increase | +189% |
| Severity | warning |
Who is affected
Countries where Mercator comes ashore, how much of their submarine diversity this cable represents, and what our measurements into them show.
| Country | Dependence on this cable | Other submarine cables | What the measurements show |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium resilience index: 44 · vulnerable |
1 of 4 cables (25% of submarine diversity) | Pan European Crossing (UK-Belgium), Q&E North, Tangerine | average 96 ms over the last day vs 37 ms over 30 days - slower |
| United Kingdom resilience index: 97 · resilient |
1 of 67 cables (1% of submarine diversity) | 2Africa, Amitie, Apollo +63 more | median 70 ms today vs 68 ms over 30 days (12 routes) - unchanged |
Dependence is structural (share of the country's submarine cables), not a traffic share: real traffic distribution across cables is not public.
Timeline
- Alert 2026091901: warning - ratio 2.58x
- Alert #205 resolved: RTT 83ms (baseline 51.36ms), 10 consecutive OK
Detection method
Latency is sampled continuously from our probe network. An alert opens when round-trip time to a monitored endpoint holds above its rolling baseline, and closes automatically once it returns. Full method is described on the methodology page.