Inter-island internet services in Tonga have reportedly been disrupted after an earthquake damaged the Tonga Domestic Cable Extension (TDCE), the island nation’s only domestic subsea cable connection.
The TDCE cable connects the main island of Tongatapu with the northernmost island of Vava'u. According to a report from news site Matangi Tonga Online on Wednesday, telephone and internet services on the islands of Vava'u and Ha’apai have been disrupted since June 29, following an early morning earthquake that damaged the TDCE in two locations at 73 km and 96 km from Tongatapu.
Tonga Cable acting CEO Sosafate Kolo said that a repair ship dispatched from Singapore should arrive in the middle of this month, but that the speed of the repair work will depend on the extent of the damage, the report said. The most optimistic estimates reckon normal services won’t be restored until at least the end of this month.
Meanwhile, local telcos Tonga Communication Corporation (TCC) and Digicel Tonga said that they have activated backup satellite connectivity for Vava'u and Ha’apai to restore inter-island voice, SMS, and data services. However, satellite capacity is extremely limited compared to the TDCE link. For perspective, even with the link fully operational, the average downlink speed in Tonga is 3.5 Mbps, according to the Broadband Speedchecker website.
Meanehile, LEO satellite operator Starlink is not an option even for roaming customers who have imported Starlink equipment into Tonga, which the government says is illegal. According to Matangi, Starlink told its roaming customers on Wednesday that Tonga regulator MEIDECC has ordered the operator to disable its services in Tonga.
The government has banned Starlink from offering roaming services in the country until it receives an operating licence, which the government has been deliberating since at least May.
The TDCE break is the latest incident highlighting the island’s vulnerability to internet disruptions. In January 2022, the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano damaged the only subsea fibre cable connecting Tonga to the global internet.
Last month, the governments of Australia and New Zealand agreed to construct a new cable connecting Tonga to the transpacific Hawaiki Cable via a landing station in Vava’u. The 383-kilometre Tonga Hawaiki Branch System is expected to be in place by late 2025.
