Undersea cable fault could cut off Tonga from rest of the world for weeks

A satellite image shows ash covered homes and buildings after the main eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano, in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, January 18, 2022. Satellite Image ©2022 Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS

WELLINGTON/SYDNEY (Reuters) - The South Pacific archipelago of Tonga could spend days, or even weeks, cut off from the rest of world because of difficulties in repairing its sole undersea communications cable, which an operator said was ruptured during a massive volcanic eruption.

The challenge underlines the vulnerability of undersea fibre-optic cables, which have become the backbone of global communications, thanks to a capacity to carry data that is about 200 times that of satellites.