Kokar, Indonesia

Kokar, Indonesia: A Remote Link in the Palapa Ring East

Kokar, a small landing point in Indonesia, plays a quiet yet significant role in the country's connectivity landscape. It is one of the 18 stops on the Palapa Ring East cable, a 6,300 km domestic network that stitches together remote and underserved regions of eastern Indonesia. Unlike major hubs such as Batam (20 cables) or Jakarta (10 cables), Kokar hosts just one cable. Yet, that single connection is part of a broader effort to extend digital access to areas far from Indonesia's urban centers.

The Palapa Ring East: Connecting Kokar to the Nation

The Palapa Ring East cable, operational since 2019, is a domestic system designed to bridge the digital divide across Indonesia's sprawling archipelago. Kokar’s inclusion in this network reflects its role as a stepping stone in a chain that links remote regions like Agats, Kepulauan Aru, and Supiori to larger hubs such as Kupang and Timika. While Kokar does not directly connect to international networks, its position within the Palapa Ring East ensures that local communities can access national and global digital services through upstream connections.

Latency Insights: Kokar’s Performance

GeoCables’ monitoring reveals Kokar’s average round-trip latency to be 112 milliseconds, with the best observed latency at 18 milliseconds. These measurements highlight the efficiency of the Palapa Ring East cable in delivering connectivity across Indonesia’s vast geography. For a landing point in such a remote area, these latency figures are promising, enabling Kokar to support essential services like communication, education, and commerce.

A Contrast with Indonesia’s Major Cable Hubs

Kokar’s single cable stands in stark contrast to Indonesia’s major landing points like Batam, Jakarta, and Makassar, which host multiple international and domestic cables. These hubs act as gateways to global networks, while Kokar’s role is more localized - serving as a link in the chain that connects eastern Indonesia’s islands to the rest of the country. This difference underscores the diversity of Indonesia’s submarine cable infrastructure, where major hubs coexist with smaller, strategic points like Kokar.

Why Kokar Matters

Kokar may not be a bustling economic center or a hub of international connectivity, but its inclusion in the Palapa Ring East cable is a testament to Indonesia’s commitment to connecting its remote regions. For the residents of Kokar and surrounding areas, this cable represents access to the digital world - a connection to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach. In the grand scheme of Indonesia’s 70 submarine cables and 139 landing points, Kokar is a modest player. Yet, its role in the Palapa Ring East network ensures that even the farthest corners of the archipelago are part of the nation’s digital future.