©Mark Ollig
The underwater fiber-optic cable between the city of Suva, the capital of the Republic of Fiji; and Nukualofa, the capital of Tonga, was suddenly cut Jan. 20.
Tonga’s 10-gigabits-per-second high-speed internet, along with its international telecommunication services, are delivered from Fiji over the submarine cable called the Tonga Cable.
Tonga is located 2,038 miles east of Brisbane, Australia, and 1,500 miles northeast of New Zealand.
With the submarine cable severed, the residents of Tonga suddenly found themselves disconnected from the rest of the online world.
According to Tonga’s news website, Matangi, Tonga was put “into digital isolation.”
Mantangi reported the submarine cable’s disruption fault was located 50 miles from Tonga.
Tonga is made up of a group of islands, of which 36 are inhabited. The people there are heavily-dependent on the submarine cable which links them to the rest of the world.
The severed submarine cable disrupted the internet and international telecommunications services, causing some 100,000 people, to be thrown into online digital darkness.
The 514-mile Tonga submarine cable was placed into service in August 2013, is managed by Tonga Cable, and owned by Tonga Communications Corporation, Government of Tonga, and telecommunications service provider, Digicel Tonga.
The cable connects Tonga to the Southern Cross Cable submarine cable that links Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and includes landing points in Kahe Point and Spencer beach in Hawaii; Hillsboro, OR; and Morro Bay, CA.
While the submarine cable underwent restoration by a submarine cable maintenance ship named Reliance, the isolated island in the South Pacific needed to rely on short-term internet connectivity.
A locally-owned-and-operated satellite service was able to provide minimal internet service; however, the data speed was comparable to the early days of online dial-up telephone service.
Mantangi described the efforts to “swing some extra satellite capacity to Tonga” as being performed by “smart, young, and adventurous Tongans.”
Most Tonga residents needed to wait – sometimes for hours – to use the satellite facilities, and they could use them for only a brief time.
Tonga’s Health Ministry Chief Siale ‘Akau’ola reported they lost contact with government stations on Tonga’s outer islands because of the communication disruption.
“There are areas that are critical, and most of them need confirmation of supplies and when goods and supplies are arriving,” ‘Akau’ola said.
Tonga’s tourism business is also heavily-dependent on internet access.
In addition to losing internet service, international telephone calls and processing credit card payments were also inoperative.
To help, the local telephone company in Nuku’alofa set up internet hotspot locations for residents to use.
Bandwidth was limited; essential services were placed on a high priority. Local officials blocked social media sites, such as YouTube and Facebook, which used too much bandwidth.
Local business owners were lined up at these hotspots and were able to place orders, process payments, and respond to their online customers, albeit at extremely slow data speeds.
Not only were businesses losing money, individuals needing to process money transfers and deposit payments into banks from abroad were also affected.
Many suppliers were unable to get their orders out on time; as there were many disruptions.
“The business houses were in serious trouble, especially in the first few days. The banks, as well as the airlines, the government ministries that are responsible, for example, for issuing certificates and licenses, etcetera, had a difficult time,” said Mr. Senituilia, a Tonga government spokesperson.
Since access to the internet was limited; many people reverted to a time before there were internet and web access. They began talking with each other face-to-face, they were going outside without a smartphone, and people were verbally socializing (instead of texting) at the local food and drink establishments.
If you have ever lost your internet connection for an extended period, you understand the frustration of not being able to access the online content and websites on the internet.
Being online has become part of our daily lives: texting, emails, social media, online banking, and booking hotels, car rentals, and airfare. We Google, watch videos, and check online news sources using the internet and web. I’ve become so dependent on my smartphone, I would feel uncomfortable without it.
However, I digress.
What caused the severed submarine cable? Tonga officials believe a large ship dragging its anchor along the bottom of the South Pacific Ocean cut the submarine cable, causing the communications disruption.
The repairs to the Tonga fiber-optic submarine cable were completed Feb. 2, and internet and communications services were fully restored to the residents.
“There are a lot of people trying to catch up today. It’s good to be back,” said Paula Taumoepeau, president of Tonga’s Chamber of Commerce.
TeleGeography provides a regularly updated and interactive global submarine cable map, free to the public, at https://www.submarinecablemap.com.
The underwater fiber-optic cable between the city of Suva, the capital of the Republic of Fiji; and Nukualofa, the capital of Tonga, was suddenly cut Jan. 20.
Tonga’s 10-gigabits-per-second high-speed internet, along with its international telecommunication services, are delivered from Fiji over the submarine cable called the Tonga Cable.
Tonga is located 2,038 miles east of Brisbane, Australia, and 1,500 miles northeast of New Zealand.
With the submarine cable severed, the residents of Tonga suddenly found themselves disconnected from the rest of the online world.
According to Tonga’s news website, Matangi, Tonga was put “into digital isolation.”
Mantangi reported the submarine cable’s disruption fault was located 50 miles from Tonga.
Tonga is made up of a group of islands, of which 36 are inhabited. The people there are heavily-dependent on the submarine cable which links them to the rest of the world.
The severed submarine cable disrupted the internet and international telecommunications services, causing some 100,000 people, to be thrown into online digital darkness.
The 514-mile Tonga submarine cable was placed into service in August 2013, is managed by Tonga Cable, and owned by Tonga Communications Corporation, Government of Tonga, and telecommunications service provider, Digicel Tonga.
The cable connects Tonga to the Southern Cross Cable submarine cable that links Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and includes landing points in Kahe Point and Spencer beach in Hawaii; Hillsboro, OR; and Morro Bay, CA.
While the submarine cable underwent restoration by a submarine cable maintenance ship named Reliance, the isolated island in the South Pacific needed to rely on short-term internet connectivity.
A locally-owned-and-operated satellite service was able to provide minimal internet service; however, the data speed was comparable to the early days of online dial-up telephone service.
Mantangi described the efforts to “swing some extra satellite capacity to Tonga” as being performed by “smart, young, and adventurous Tongans.”
Most Tonga residents needed to wait – sometimes for hours – to use the satellite facilities, and they could use them for only a brief time.
Tonga’s Health Ministry Chief Siale ‘Akau’ola reported they lost contact with government stations on Tonga’s outer islands because of the communication disruption.
“There are areas that are critical, and most of them need confirmation of supplies and when goods and supplies are arriving,” ‘Akau’ola said.
Tonga’s tourism business is also heavily-dependent on internet access.
In addition to losing internet service, international telephone calls and processing credit card payments were also inoperative.
To help, the local telephone company in Nuku’alofa set up internet hotspot locations for residents to use.
Bandwidth was limited; essential services were placed on a high priority. Local officials blocked social media sites, such as YouTube and Facebook, which used too much bandwidth.
Local business owners were lined up at these hotspots and were able to place orders, process payments, and respond to their online customers, albeit at extremely slow data speeds.
Not only were businesses losing money, individuals needing to process money transfers and deposit payments into banks from abroad were also affected.
Many suppliers were unable to get their orders out on time; as there were many disruptions.
“The business houses were in serious trouble, especially in the first few days. The banks, as well as the airlines, the government ministries that are responsible, for example, for issuing certificates and licenses, etcetera, had a difficult time,” said Mr. Senituilia, a Tonga government spokesperson.
Since access to the internet was limited; many people reverted to a time before there were internet and web access. They began talking with each other face-to-face, they were going outside without a smartphone, and people were verbally socializing (instead of texting) at the local food and drink establishments.
If you have ever lost your internet connection for an extended period, you understand the frustration of not being able to access the online content and websites on the internet.
Being online has become part of our daily lives: texting, emails, social media, online banking, and booking hotels, car rentals, and airfare. We Google, watch videos, and check online news sources using the internet and web. I’ve become so dependent on my smartphone, I would feel uncomfortable without it.
However, I digress.
What caused the severed submarine cable? Tonga officials believe a large ship dragging its anchor along the bottom of the South Pacific Ocean cut the submarine cable, causing the communications disruption.
The repairs to the Tonga fiber-optic submarine cable were completed Feb. 2, and internet and communications services were fully restored to the residents.
“There are a lot of people trying to catch up today. It’s good to be back,” said Paula Taumoepeau, president of Tonga’s Chamber of Commerce.
TeleGeography provides a regularly updated and interactive global submarine cable map, free to the public, at https://www.submarinecablemap.com.
 |
| Fiber-optic submarine Southern Cross Cable |
 |
| Submarine fiber-optic Tonga Cable |