February 08, 2022
Call to stars for Tonga help answered
National list MP Shane Reti says it’s satisfying to see his plea for telecommunications help for Tonga answered.
After last month’s volcano and tsunami damaged the undersea cable carrying communications to the island kingdom, Dr Reti wrote to SpaceX owner Elon Musk, currently the world’s richest man, asking if his company could provide a satellite link.
Despite scepticism from others in the industry to his plea, SpaceX responded by promising a temporary ground station while the cable between Tonga and Fiji is repaired.
“One of the professors at AUT, a satellite expert, was very telling in his summary> He said SpaceX may not be able to deploy but what it has done is brought international attention to the telecommunications opportunity and needs of the Pacific. That could be the biggest gain from this piece of work, but here we are, they are actually going to get SpaceX and Starlink,” Dr Reti says.
SpaceX staff are in Fiji working on an internet gateway to Tonga.