According to an official in Fiji, where the work is being done, Elon Musk’s satellite internet firm is assisting with the restoration of access to the Pacific Island nation of Tonga.
A volcanic explosion on Jan. 15 cut Tonga’s only optic-fiber link to the internet and the rest of the globe, and only limited communication has been possible since.
On Twitter, Fiji’s Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum announced, “A SpaceX team is now in Fiji installing a Starlink gateway station to reconnect Tonga to the globe.
“The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano eruption triggered a tsunami that destroyed villages and resorts and blanketed the capital of the nation of about 105,000 people in ash, as well as cutting the fiber-optic communications cable.
The exact date of SpaceX’s activities is unknown, while the Fijian Broadcasting Corporation said that engineers would maintain a ground station in Fiji for six months, quoting Sayed-Khaiyum.
An emailed request for comment from SpaceX was not immediately returned. The prime minister’s office and Tonga Communications Corporation, the country’s national telco, could not be reached for comment.
Cable repair ships, according to Refinitiv shipping statistics. Reliance has been repairing a damaged undersea cable off the coast of Tonga’s largest island for for a week.
Any improvement in communications will likely be welcomed by Tongans who have been unable to communicate with family abroad and assist with recovery efforts, which have been impeded by the COVID-19 shutdown.
