Musk helping restore Tongan internet; virus outbreak growing

By NICK PERRY and DAVID RISING
Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Entrepreneur Elon Musk is trying to help reconnect Tonga to the internet after a volcanic eruption and tsunami cut off the South Pacific nation more than three weeks ago, according to officials, while repairs on an undersea cable are proving more difficult than first thought. The tsunami severed the sole fiber-optic cable that connects Tonga to the rest of the world and most people there remain without reliable connections. A top Fijian official tweeted that a team from Musk’s SpaceX company was in Fiji establishing a station that would help reconnect Tonga through SpaceX satellites.