Tonga was reconnected to the world on Tuesday following repairs to a submarine cable, officials said, a month after a volcanic eruption and tsunami cut communications to the remote Pacific island nation.
"People on the main island will have access almost immediately," Tonga Cable chief executive James Panuve told Reuters by telephone, after a repair ship handed over the restored cable Tuesday afternoon.
School chaplain Penisimani Akauola Tonga was among those getting back online for the first time since the disaster struck the tiny island nation in mid January.
"First post on Facebook since January 15th! So Blessed for the opportunity! Malo Tongaxjmtzyw Cable & Tonga Government!" he wrote.
Tongans have struggled with makeshift satellite services as the repairs to the cable were made.
The repair ship took 20 days to replace a 92-kilometre section of the 827 kilometre submarine fibre-optic cable that connects Tonga to Fiji and other international networks.
Panuve thanked telecommunications companies in neighbouring Pacific islands, particularly New Caledonia, which provided lengths of cable when Tonga ran out.
- People in Tonga finally able to reconnect with the outside world as some phone lines restored
- 1st foreign aid flights arrive in Tonga after massive volcanic eruption and tsunami
The next job would be to repair the domestic cable connecting the main island of Tongatapu with outlying islands that were hit worse by the tsunami, said Panuve, but that could take six to nine months.
"We don't have enough cable," he said.
Tsunami cuts off communication with Tonga, extent of damage unknown
1 month agoDuration 2:07The small nation of Tonga is cut off from most communication after an underwater volcano eruption triggered a tsunami. The country’s isolated location and the lack of communication has made it difficult to assess damage or send aid. 2:07
Still, communication using interim satellite services to outlying islands would improve after Tonga's networks switched the main island from satellite to fibre, he said.
One of two major service providers, Digicel, said in a statement that all its customers on Tongatapu and Eua islands were connected to the outside world as data connectivity was restored.
- 3 dead, many homes destroyed — but Tonga escapes worst-case volcano eruption aftermath
Digicel Tonga chief executive, Anthony Seuseu said in a statement that the company would look at increasing investment and network optimization to prepare better for a catastrophic event … in the future."
Digicel's Pacific business was bought by Australian telecommunications company Telstra Corp. in October with financing by the Australian government.
