The events on the island of Tonga have been one of the most catastrophic in recent years. It not only brought severe consequences for the health of the ecosystem and inhabitants of the region; also, due to the magnitude of the eruption, the submarine telecommunications cable that connected Tonga with the rest of the world was broken. Several weeks ago, Elon Musk wondered if he could help with his Starlink satellites to temporarily reestablish the connection on the island . Now, a tweet from Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, Fiji's Attorney General, seems to confirm that Musk's idea has become a fact.
According to a new report from Mashable, the SpaceX team is working to bringan emergency broadband service to Tonga; for this, they will use their Starlink satellite Internet service.
“The shock wave from the Hunga Tonga volcano shattered Tonga's internet connection, adding days of harrowing uncertainty to assessments of the catastrophe. A @SpaceX team is now in Fiji setting up a Starlink Gateway station to reconnect Tonga with the world. Big initiative, @elonmusk”.
Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, Attorney General of Fiji
SpaceX prepares to start Starlink operations in Tonga
Starlink Although there is no official reason, it is believed that the SpaceX team could have selected Fiji as a station because the country still has its submarine telecommunications cable. Despite the relative proximity between Tonga and Fiji, it is not known how long it might take the team to set up an entire station for Starlink; however, it seems that this is not the biggest obstacle of all.
The SpaceX team will have to devise a way to get the satellite dishes to the inhabitants of Tonga; which are necessary for the operation of the Starlink satellite Internet. Also, due to the worldwide shortage of components; it could take some time until SpaceX can produce the amount needed to supply the island.
According to the last report in mid-January, the repairs to the submarine cable could take up to four weeks to finish. At the moment, the country is facing devastating consequences for its fauna. In addition, humanitarian aid sent from other countries has left several cases of coronavirus in the region.
As the SpaceX team begins its Starlink operations on the island, Tonga will have to make do with the limited connections they have managed to establish. According to a report from the end of January, the High Commission of New Zealand had managed to establish a provisional mobile phone system; although “limited and irregular”, and with maximum speeds of 2G.
