Elon Musk reconnecting Tonga internet with SpaceX Starlink satellites

SpaceX engineers arrived in Fiji to establish and operate a temporary Starlink ground station for six months as undersea internet cable repairs continue.

Elon Musk is helping to restore internet to Tonga with his Starlink satellites after a massive volcanic eruption severed the Pacific Island’s undersea internet cable.

The billionaire founder of Tesla has a team from his SpaceX aerospace company currently in Fiji working to reconnect Tonga’s communication to the world via his satellite based-internet.

Fiji’s Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum confirmed the plan in a statement thanking Musk for the “great initiative”.

“The Hunga Tonga volcano’s shockwave shattered Tonga’s internet connection, adding days of gut-wrenching uncertainty to disaster assessments,” he said on Twitter. A @SpaceX team is now in Fiji establishing a Starlink Gateway station to reconnect Tonga to the world.”

The first 60 Starlink satellites before their separation in Earth orbit. Picture: Wikimedia Commons.

The 827 kilometre underwater cable that connected Tonga to the internet, via a relay on Fiji, remains severed after the massive eruption and subsequent tsunami.

It was estimated to take at least weeks or more to reconnect the cable, as the work requires specialised ships to repair undersea fibre-optic cables.

The break in the line also needs to be identified, hooked by a submersible vehicle and pulled up to the ship for repair.

Starlink, meanwhile, has a network of 2,000 low-lying satellites connecting the internet to remote locations beyond the reach of traditional internet cable providers.

A grab taken from the NOAA GOES-West satellite on January 15, 2022. Picture: AFP.

Tonga developed a 15-year plan with an internet satellite company after an internet blackout in 2019 but the deal fell apart over the terms of the contract.

Following the volcano, Musk tweeted for the people from Tonga to let him know if it was “important for SpaceX to send over Starlink terminals”.

New Zealand MP Dr Shane Reti wrote a formal letter to the SpaceX CEO on January 17 requesting “urgent Starlink internet communications to public officials and the good people of Tonga in this moment of need”, adding on Twitter that Musk “can only say no, and if you don’t ask you don’t know”.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to the Tongan’s internet rescue with his Starlink satellite internet. Picture: AFP.

Musk replied it was replied “a hard thing for us to do right now”, and asked for clear confirmation from officials.

“As we don’t have enough satellites with laser links and there are already geo sats that serve the Tonga region,” he tweeted.

The confirmation worked and Fiji’s Minister for Communications, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum confirmed to FBC News that SpaceX engineers would establish and operate a temporary ground station in Fiji for six months.

“(Space X) had applied for a temporary emergency telecommunications licence on the 20th of Jan, the sole purpose of this license is to provide an internet gateway,” he told the outlet.

“Space X and FINTEL are currently, however, in commercial negotiations to co-locate the earth station and connect to Fiji’s internet gateway.”