Last Friday, January 14th, the volcano Hungary Tonga erupted, wreaking havoc on the islands of tonga, country formed an archipelago located in the Pacific Ocean (the irony of life). In addition to tsunami caused by the volcano, which flooded several islands in the country, caused five deaths (being two in Peru) and left the territory covered in ash, the damage hit the only submarine cable that connects tonga to the internet, leaving the country incommunicado, without even information from government authorities. AND it will take weeks for the internet return.
Tonga without internet for up to four weeks
The submarine cable, measuring 827 km, is connected to the tonga along a route that passes through fiji, another country formed by an archipelago. the connection with fiji is the only source of Internet of the country, but according to the Reuters, the cable was broken in the very strong eruption of the volcano Hunga Tonga. to fix the submarine cable, the repair ship needs to leave Papua New Guinea, which will take a few days to arrive in tonga. After that, the repair team will depend on the condition of the volcano to work. After all, you don’t want to risk diving in close proximity to an underwater eruption. This is the part where no one can do anything other than the tiresome “sit and wait”.
Watch a video of the moment one of the series of tsunami waves hits Tonga
To make matters worse, repairing the cable is more complicated with it already installed on the seabed. According to Craige Sloots, director of the company Southern Cross Cable Network, responsible for the damaged cable, if all goes well, it will be possible to repair it in two weeks. Already counting the nine days of the ship’s voyage. Just missing the volcano collaborate, which is not happening yet.
Telephone operators in the country have already contracted satellite
… But problems in the contract prevented the satellite internet service from working in tonga. In 2019, the two operators in the country hired the services of Kacific, a company that operates a satellite internet service. The contract was given precisely because of problems with the submarine cable. The reason for not working? The contract was not activated by the government of tonga. It has even been signed, the government’s “yes” is missing.
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