Telkom Indonesia restores all services in East Nusa Tenggara after deadly quake

Details: John Tanner; Category: Humanitarian Comms; 20 August 2026; 777 views

Telkom Indonesia announced on Wednesday that its operating companies have restored all telecoms and digital services in the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) region following a deadly 7.7 earthquake on the island of Flores on Saturday.

Telkom said all Telkom Group services in NTT returned to normal and stable operations as of Tuesday, although one subsea cable segment and several terrestrial fibre-optic segments are still in the process of maintenance.

Telkom said its technical team is proactively monitoring the backup fibre route that currently serves as the main backbone to maintain network availability.

Meanwhile, its satellite unit Telkomsat continues to provide satellite connectivity at 17 points in Maumere, Ruteng, and Larantuka to support service continuity in locations that are difficult for repair teams to reach.

“We are grateful that all services have now returned to normal in just three days,” said Telkom president director Dian Siswarini in a statement. “The speed of this recovery cannot be separated from the rapid work of the entire Telkom Group team, as well as close collaboration with the government, volunteers, and all parties involved.”

Telkom said it has also been providing free broadband internet access at a number of evacuation posts and Telkom’s regional office in Flores.

Its mobile arm Telkomsel has supplied evacuees with a Simpati SIM card with quota vouchers, while Telkomsel customers have received a seven-day Emergency Package with 3GB of data to help the community and customers stay connected with their families and obtain critical information during the disaster response and recovery period.

Telkom has also been providing humanitarian support in Nagekeo, Reo, Ruteng, Maumere, and Bima, including distribution of groceries, baby and child needs, and household items, said Telkom network director Nanang Hendarno.

"The complete restoration of service does not mean that our support has stopped. We understand that the community still needs assistance to return to daily activities,” Nanang said. “TelkomGroup will continue to be present through connectivity support and humanitarian assistance that is relevant to the needs of the community, so that the recovery process can run sustainably.”

According to the latest information from ReliefWeb, at least 69 people were reported killed and almost 1,200 injured by the quake as of Tuesday, while over 46,000 people have been displaced. The NTT region has endured over 2,100 aftershocks as of Tuesday, with magnitudes ranging from magnitude 1.3 to 6.2.