Tonga: internet network restored

(ANSA) - ROME, FEBRUARY 22 - Tonga is once again connected to the world.

   Five weeks after a volcanic eruption hit the small Pacific island nation, the 840km submarine cable connecting Tonga to Fiji was repaired and is its only way to connect to the internet.

    The eruption of the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apaie and the ensuing tsunami of 15 January killed three people and damaged hundreds of homes.

   Soon after, the country was cut off from the world by damage to the undersea cable, and improvised satellite services provided only limited communication links.

    The main telecommunications operators of the island, Digicele Tcc, reports the BBC, have confirmed that the Internet has been restored in the main islands but the works are not yet finished as the domestic cables that serve the peripheral islands have yet to be restored.

(HANDLE).