Elon Musk helping restore internet to Tonga, officials say
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Entrepreneur Elon Musk is helping reconnect Tonga to the internet after a volcanic eruption and tsunami cut off the South Pacific nation more than three weeks ago, according to officials, while repairs on an undersea cable are proving more difficult than first thought.
The tsunami severed the sole fiber-optic cable that connects Tonga to the rest of the world and most people remain without reliable connections.
A top official in neighboring Fiji tweeted that a team from Musk's SpaceX company was in Fiji establishing a station that would help reconnect Tonga through SpaceX satellites.
SpaceX runs a network of nearly 2,000 low-orbit satellites called Starlink, which provides internet service to remote places around the world.
Fiji Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum tweeted about the SpaceX work, saying the volcano's shockwave “shattered Tonga’s internet connection, adding days of gut-wrenching uncertainty to disaster assessments.”
A spokeswoman for Sayed-Khaiyum said Wednesday she was waiting for more information about the Starlink project before providing further details. SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment.
Musk had earlier shown interest in Tonga's plight. Less than a week after the eruption, he asked on Twitter: “Could people from Tonga let us know if it is important for SpaceX to send over Starlink terminals?”
New Zealand politician Dr. Shane Reti wrote to Musk asking him to help provide a Starlink connection. After the reports from Fiji emerged, Reti tweeted: “Very pleased. Elon Musk providing satellite to Tonga."
Meanwhile Samiuela Fonua, the chairperson at Tonga Cable Ltd., the state-owned company that owns the crucial undersea cable, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that repairs to the cable might not be...
