Tonga: Renewed internet disruptions affecting Vava'u and Ha'apai Islands as of Aug. 28 /update 2

Internet disruptions are affecting Vava'u and Ha'apai Islands of Tonga as of August 28 due to earthquake-related damages to a domestic internet undersea cable. Similar disruptions occurred June 29-Aug. 17 following a previous earthquake, causing business and service interruptions. Impacted sectors include tourism, hospitality, financial services such as point-of-sale payments and online banking, internet-based voice calls, and offshore communication on yachts. Officials have yet to clarify the schedule of repair works; normalization may take several weeks.

The government has approved the use of the Starlink private internet provider for six months, effective July 19, to meet demands. Slow internet speeds, intermittent connectivity, and outages are likely to continue for users of domestic internet service providers until the completion of repairs.