Elon Musk has offered to send Starlink internet terminals to Tonga after the recent volcanic eruption and tsunami left the Pacific island nation without communication links to the rest of the world.
Replying on Twitter to a Reuters story that Tonga could be without internet connection for a month, the billionaire entrepreneur wrote: “Could people from Tonga let us know if it is important for SpaceX to send over Starlink terminals?”
Soon, the post went viral. From all over the world, numerous Tongans replied to the tweet with requests for help to reestablish communication as it could help to contact families and coordinate assistance.
Lord Fusitu’a, a politician from Tonga also said, “Yes we need them to get liquidity in to purchase much-needed goods. Voice and data completely down with undersea cable severed.”
Fusitu’a also tweeted that he was organizing an airdrop of ham radio for basic communications, and requested direct contact with Musk to coordinate assistance.
Communications are still down in Tonga except for satellite phones and limited internet access for a handful of officials and media.
Josephine Latu-Sanft, a communications specialist from Tonga, suggested giving internet to people until the undersea cable gets repaired and then working with partners to establish robust communications infrastructure across the Pacific.
In response, Musk wrote, “This is a hard thing for us to do right now, as we don’t have enough satellites with laser links and there are already geo sats that serve the Tonga region. That is why I’m asking for clear confirmation.”
Tesla has a limited presence in the Pacific islands except for Tesla solar panels, which are used in sustainable energy projects in some of the islands.
The Tongan government, when it was finally able to broadcast a statement to the world three days after the disaster, announced that Tonga had suffered an “unprecedented disaster”; that the waves from the tsunami reached 15m high on some islands, and that at least three people had died.
Almost one week on, much is still unknown. Calls to Tonga still do not connect, or if they do, drop out after just seconds. The internet is still almost impossible to access. And while some aid has finally landed, this is also not without its complications: with fears that aid workers could bring Covid-19 to a country that has recorded just a single case throughout the entire pandemic.
Replying on Twitter to a Reuters story that Tonga could be without internet connection for a month, the billionaire entrepreneur wrote: “Could people from Tonga let us know if it is important for SpaceX to send over Starlink terminals?”
Soon, the post went viral. From all over the world, numerous Tongans replied to the tweet with requests for help to reestablish communication as it could help to contact families and coordinate assistance.
Lord Fusitu’a, a politician from Tonga also said, “Yes we need them to get liquidity in to purchase much-needed goods. Voice and data completely down with undersea cable severed.”
Fusitu’a also tweeted that he was organizing an airdrop of ham radio for basic communications, and requested direct contact with Musk to coordinate assistance.
Communications are still down in Tonga except for satellite phones and limited internet access for a handful of officials and media.
Josephine Latu-Sanft, a communications specialist from Tonga, suggested giving internet to people until the undersea cable gets repaired and then working with partners to establish robust communications infrastructure across the Pacific.
In response, Musk wrote, “This is a hard thing for us to do right now, as we don’t have enough satellites with laser links and there are already geo sats that serve the Tonga region. That is why I’m asking for clear confirmation.”
Tesla has a limited presence in the Pacific islands except for Tesla solar panels, which are used in sustainable energy projects in some of the islands.
The Tongan government, when it was finally able to broadcast a statement to the world three days after the disaster, announced that Tonga had suffered an “unprecedented disaster”; that the waves from the tsunami reached 15m high on some islands, and that at least three people had died.
Almost one week on, much is still unknown. Calls to Tonga still do not connect, or if they do, drop out after just seconds. The internet is still almost impossible to access. And while some aid has finally landed, this is also not without its complications: with fears that aid workers could bring Covid-19 to a country that has recorded just a single case throughout the entire pandemic.
