TelkomGroup Launches Pukpuk Submarine Cable, First Direct Link Between Indonesia and PNG

Why It Matters

The Pukpuk Submarine Cable provides critical route diversity for Eastern Indonesia, a region that previously relied on a single undersea path. By linking directly to Papua New Guinea, the cable reduces latency for cross‑border traffic, lowers wholesale bandwidth costs and creates a foundation for new digital services such as cloud computing, tele‑medicine and e‑education. For the broader Asia‑Pacific telecom market, the project demonstrates a shift toward multilateral infrastructure development, reducing dependence on traditional hubs in Singapore and Hong Kong and encouraging more balanced regional growth. Furthermore, the cable strengthens geopolitical ties between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, aligning with both governments’ digital‑economy agendas. The commercial agreement between Telin and PNG DataCo suggests a model for future public‑private collaborations that could accelerate infrastructure rollout across other underserved Pacific islands, fostering a more resilient and inclusive digital ecosystem.

Key Takeaways

• Telin inaugurated the Pukpuk Submarine Cable System (Puk‑Puk 1) on May 8, 2026, linking Jayapura, Indonesia, with Vanimo, PNG.
• The cable creates a second independent connectivity route for Jayapura, complementing the existing Sulawesi‑Maluku‑Papua corridor.
• Landing station in Jayapura connects to Kumul Telkom Holdings’ network, delivering capacity from multiple PNG provinces.
• Vice Minister Angga Raka Prabowo highlighted the cable’s role in equitable, sustainable digital growth for Eastern Indonesia.
• Telin and PNG DataCo signed a commercial agreement on the same day to jointly commercialise the cable’s capacity.

Pulse Analysis

The Pukpuk cable is a strategic inflection point for Southeast Asian connectivity. Historically, Indonesia’s eastern provinces have suffered from limited bandwidth, high latency and vulnerability to single‑point failures. By establishing a direct undersea link to Papua New Guinea, Telin not only diversifies the physical route but also creates a geopolitical bridge that can be leveraged for broader regional integration. This move mirrors Indonesia’s recent push to position itself as a digital hub, akin to the Belt and Road Initiative’s focus on infrastructure, but with a clear emphasis on the digital layer.

From a market perspective, the new corridor challenges the dominance of existing trans‑Pacific routes that funnel traffic through Singapore or Hong Kong. Competitors will need to reassess pricing models and capacity planning, especially as enterprises in the region increasingly demand low‑latency connections for cloud‑native applications. The commercial agreement with PNG DataCo hints at a bundled service approach, where capacity, pricing and service‑level agreements are co‑managed, potentially setting a template for future cross‑border collaborations.

Looking forward, the cable’s impact will be measured by uptake among ISPs, the speed of ancillary infrastructure rollout (e.g., terrestrial backhaul, data centres) and the degree to which it stimulates digital adoption in remote communities. If traffic growth aligns with expectations, we could see a cascade of similar projects linking other Pacific islands, gradually reshaping the region’s connectivity map from a hub‑and‑spoke model to a more meshed, resilient architecture.