Tonga says space entrepreneur and Tesla founder Elon Musk has donated 50 satellite terminals to help the volcano-damaged Pacific island reconnect with the world.
Tonga's telecoms system has been severely restricted since January 15 when a violent volcanic eruption and tsunami severed its underwater fibre-optic cable.
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A handout satellite image made available by the Tonga Meteorological Services, Government of Tonga shows an explosive eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano, in the South Pacific kingdom of Tonga. The undersea volcano erupted on January 13 and again two days later. EPA -
A handout image captured by NOAA's GOES-17 satellite and made available by the Regional and Mesoscale Meteorology Branch of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/NESDIS shows an explosive eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano. Geologists in Tonga said the volcano continued to spew ash. EPA -
The eruption of an underwater volcano off Tonga, which triggered a tsunami warning for several South Pacific island nations, as captured by the NOAA GOES-West satellite. Reuters -
This file photo taken on December 21, 2021 shows white gaseous clouds rising from an eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano from the Patangata coastline, near the Tongan capital, Nuku’alofa. Frightened Tongans fled to higher ground after the latest eruption of the volcano, heard in neighbouring countries, triggered tsunami warnings in the South Pacific. AFP -
A white plume rises over Tonga when the underwater volcano erupted, in this still image obtained from an animated GIF from the Co-operative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere and NOAA. Reuters -
This satellite image taken by Himawari-8, a Japanese weather satellite, and released by the agency shows the undersea eruption, which sent large waves crashing across the shore and people rushing to higher ground. AP
Mr Musk's SpaceX corporation is providing 50 very-small-aperture terminals (VSAT) “and we are looking at how we can best utilise it”, Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni said on Friday.
The tiny South Pacific nation was also considering offers to increase Tonga's internet capacity, which has been operating on a very small bandwidth since the cable was broken.
“It's something we are testing right now,” he said.
Technical staff from SpaceX and the Tongan government were working on installing the equipment to have it operational from next week.
The volcanic eruption, so powerful it was heard as far away as Alaska and which triggered a tsunami that flooded coastlines around the Pacific, shredded an 80-kilometre stretch of Tonga's undersea telecoms cable.
Mr Sovaleni said he expected temporary repairs to be completed early next week.
