Parts of Tonga have been without internet for more than two weeks after an undersea cable was damaged in an earthquake, leaving a third of the country’s population in the dark and causing chaos for local businesses.
The crisis has been further compounded after the government ordered the Starlink internet satellite company to cease operations in Tonga until it was granted a licence.
“Starlink has been notified that they do not have a licence, so all terminals should be disabled,” prime minister Siaosi ‘Ofakivahafolau Sovaleni told reporters last week.
The island networks of Vava’u and Haʻapai were cut off on 29 June after damage to the undersea cable which connects internet services to the northern archipelagos. The government has said it is still waiting for the arrival of a repair vessel for the submarine cable.
Starlink notified its users in Tonga on 10 July they had been directed by the country’s regulator to disable internet services to users.
“We will continue to work to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals to turn on Starlink services in Tonga as soon as possible,” a note from the company to users in the region said.
Starlink – which is operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX – uses a network of over 4,500 satellites to deliver internet access to almost anywhere in the world.
It is the third time in recent years that Tonga’s undersea internet cables have been damaged, plunging parts of the nation into digital darkness. In 2022, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted, causing an “unprecedented disaster” and cutting off internet to the country.
After that incident Musk sent a number of terminals to Tonga to help restore communication. Since then the service has grown in popularity within Tonga.
Hospitality providers in the outer islands that depend on internet communications have complained they are in danger of going out of business due to the communications crisis.
Darren Rice, a resort owner in Haʻapai who is reliant on Starlink, told local news that the shutting off the satellite service at the same time as the undersea cable was severed could prove very dangerous.
“When Starlink goes off … we can’t call for help, we don’t know when storms are coming, we don’t know if there is a tsunami warning, we can’t call the hospital or the fire engine,” he said.
Viki Moore, the managing director of Island Cruising which has 126 yachts in the Pacific, told RNZ that her boats rely on Starlink for communication as there was no viable alternative.
A petition to allow access to Starlink in Tonga has attracted over 1,000 signatures.
Sovaleni told reporters last week that his government were working to fast track “actions to get a licence to Starlink.”
