Tonga sent back to 'dark ages' after underwater Internet cable severed

Fox News ^ | January 24,2019 | Anna Hopkins

[Hojczyk]

Residents of the South Pacific nation of Tonga are experiencing a total Internet shutdown after an underwater cable which connects the island to the rest of the world was severed, possibly by the anchor of a large ship.

It doesn't just mean that the isolated country can't access Facebook and YouTube - it's also affected email, airline bookings, university enrollment, money wires and prevented businesses from processing credit and debit cards - throwing the small country into chaos as they face up to weeks of Internet isolation.

A ship from nearby Samoa will be sent out to fix the severed cable within the next week, and in the meantime, a satellite dish has been set up in the country's capital of Nuku’alofa. Hundreds of people reportedly gathered outside the government building housing the dish, where the signal is most reliable, to conduct necessary business or to simply touch base with relatives located away from the island.

“You just wait for your turn to have your 20 minutes to access... it’s currently hot here in Tonga at the moment but they’ve put up a tent outside, with chairs, so people can wait," Tonga police spokeswoman Sia Adams said of the gathering outside the building, for which the hours have been extended to midnight.

[sparklite2]

I hate to think what retirement would be like for me without computers or the internet. Brrrrrrrrrr.

[StormEye]

No internet! Now they can all go back to Nature.
The way life is supposed to be lived.
Isn't this what Al Gore, the Democrats,
AOC and all the psycho environmentalist advocates want?

[Cementjungle]

[itsahoot]

It was the only way to communicate with the US.

What is wrong with sattelites?

[Truth29]

The dish was a big satellite dish. Handhelds weren’t available then.

[henbane]

. . . throwing the small country into chaos.

King George was not pleased.

Tonga's King George Tupou V, seated in his throne, attend his coronation ceremony in the nation's capital city Nuku'alofa August 1, 2008. Amid pealing bells, booming cannons, balloons and cheering children, Tonga crowned its new king on in a British-styled church ceremony, before a congregation of 1,000 that included Tongan, British, Japanese and Thai royalty, as well as South Pacific chiefs and heads of state. (REUTERS/Peter Halmagy)

[henbane]

. . . throwing the small country into chaos.

King George was not pleased.

Tonga's King George Tupou V, seated in his throne, attend his coronation ceremony in the nation's capital city Nuku'alofa August 1, 2008. Amid pealing bells, booming cannons, balloons and cheering children, Tonga crowned its new king on in a British-styled church ceremony, before a congregation of 1,000 that included Tongan, British, Japanese and Thai royalty, as well as South Pacific chiefs and heads of state. (REUTERS/Peter Halmagy)

[Notthereyet]

Books. Plenty of books.

Paper. And an implement to write with; pencil, pen, marker.

All good things.

LOLOL

[dfwgator]

[CrazyIvan]

Ivy Bells, the sequel.

[al baby]

I predict lots of toganise babies in 9 months or so

[JohnnyP]

How far is that from Pom Pom Galli?

“The Sea Chase”

John Wayne, Lana Turner, 1955

[Big Red Badger]

Toga,Toga,TOGA!

[BenLurkin]

Looks like some GIs left a legacy there.....

[reformedliberal]

We were there and in the general vicinity in 1975 and again in 2000. Life was good in 1975. People in French Polynesia were friendly, calm, healthy and seemed happy. Tonga was a rural backwater with fresh food from the sea and the land. Everyone had some chickens and maybe a pig. Business was conducted by telephone and radio.

By 2000, everyone had motorbikes, cell phones. The hotels had internet and I suppose some other residents did, as well. People were more sullen. There were constant strikes and labor unrest in Tahiti (interestingly, the large French properties were struck, not the American ones). All through Polynesia, people were laughing at the Bush vs. Gore fiasco.

1975 in the South Pacific was a true delight. A time and place to which I’d willingly return, given the chance.

My takeaway from this article is that a makeshift solution was found and life goes on.

[moovova]

At the rate the oceans are rising...they ain’t gonna need internet.

[SaveFerris]

Heh ... well, eventually.....

Revelation 16:18-20

But that’s after a great earthquake, it appears

[SaveFerris]

That WAS a very funny series of commercials

[BobL]

“Manahattan doesn’t rely on a single cable to supply all it’s data access. And it’s an island, but you can walk from it to the mainland US in under a half hour.”

Did that walk, over the GW Bridge. OUTSTANDING!!! I still love to visit NYC, but yea, it is turning back into a S-hole, thanks to its mayor.