Elon Musk's satellite venture has launched a free high-speed internet service to connect remote villages in Tonga that have been cut off since a devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami in January.
Tonga's prime minister, Siaosi Sovaleni, said in a ceremony on Wednesday in the capital, Nuku'alofa, that 50 VSAT terminals provided free of charge by Musk's SpaceX would be distributed to the outlying islands worst hit by the tsunami.
The service will remain in place and free until a submarine cable connecting the outlying islands with Tonga's main island Tongatapu is repaired. PM Sovaleni said it had all started with "a simple letter" from a New Zealand politician, Dr Shane Reti, addressed to Musk and seeking his assistance to provide Starlink internet to the people of Tonga cut off from the outside world.
"Could people from Tonga let us know if it is important for SpaceX to send over Starlink terminals?" Musk asked in his post.Sovaleni said Musk set up a Starlink gateway station in Fiji and was donating 50 VSAT terminals and free capacity "during the emergency period".
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