Tonga’s main internet connection was restored on Feb. 22, five weeks after a massive volcanic eruption and tsunami severed an undersea cable that links the Pacific island nation with the rest of the world.
Connectivity was restored to the island of Tongatapu after “multiple faults and breaks” on the cable were repaired, telecom provider Digicel Tonga said in a statement.
“The submarine repair vessel worked for more than two weeks to fix it,” the company said.
Samiuela Fonua, the chairperson of state-owned Tonga Cable Ltd., said that about 90 kilometers (56 miles) of cable damaged by the tsunami had been replaced.
The fix means that Tonga Cable can now focus on repairing a second severed cable that connects some of the outer islands to the main island, Fonua said. That cable runs close to the undersea volcano that erupted last month.
Digicel noted that Tonga’s domestic cable remains down, resulting in no connection to Vava'u island.
“Digicel’s technical team has set up the satellite link to restore connectivity for Ha’apai island and are working on trying to get Vava’u back online this week,” it said.
Tonga’s fiberoptic communication cable was severed by the eruption of the Hunga Tonga–Hunga-Ha’apai volcano and subsequent tsunami on Jan. 15, which wiped out an entire village on one of its small outer islands and killed at least three people.
“Glad my tweet was picked up and that we can make a difference. Undersea cables are so damaged that cable repair ship Reliance doesn’t have enough supply on the ship,” Reti said on Twitter.
Fonua stated that his company tested the satellite connections this week, and they had been working well. He expressed hope that the SpaceX connections could be used to reconnect people on some of the outer islands.
Tonga has also been grappling with its first outbreak of COVID-19, which may have been brought in by foreign military crews aboard ships and planes delivering vital aid after the eruption.
