Tonga cable operators said on the 19th that the tsunami caused by the recent submarine volcano eruption caused the only submarine communication fiber optic cable in Tonga to break, and it is expected to be repaired as soon as four weeks, when Tonga is expected to return to normal levels of contact with the outside world.
The failure of the submarine cable may cause Tonga to "lose contact" with the outside world for several weeks
The submarine cable is operated by the Tonga Cable Company and is 827 km long. Operators say the speed of repairs depends on when a repair vessel arrives and when operations begin. The vessel is currently docked in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, and it will take 8 to 9 days to reach the area where the incident occurred, and the crew will need to obtain safety clearance to begin operations. In addition, if there is still a volcanic eruption in the future, the maintenance progress will also be affected. In 2019, Tonga was disconnected for more than a week, allegedly due to damage to submarine cables while a steamship was unseasoned.
According to media reports, satellite telephone communications were also affected by the volcanic ash that spread over the soup and the air. International mobile operator Digisel said limited 2G signals were temporarily available on Tabu Island, Tonga's main island, with the help of the University of the South Pacific's satellite infrastructure.
Animation interpretation: how much do you know about submarine fiber optic cables
So, how important are Haitian cables?
The reason why people can communicate and access the Internet across the mountain and the sea is that the role of submarine optical cables is indispensable. Submarine optical cable, also known as submarine communication cable, is a wire wrapped in insulating materials, laid on the seabed, used to establish telecommunications transmission between countries, is to ensure that the world's major regional networks can be interconnected between the main artery. Submarine optical cables are responsible for 90% of the world's international communications business and are the main carriers of information and communications in the world today. At present, there are about 450 submarine cables in the world, with a total length of about 1.2 million kilometers.
The service life of submarine optical cable is generally about 25 years, compared with land optical cable, submarine optical cable has many advantages, such as laying no need to dig tunnels or support with brackets, so less investment, fast construction speed. However, submarine cables are also vulnerable to anchor damage or even shark bites, and once damaged, it may lead to the interruption of regional Internet and long-distance telephone services, resulting in incalculable damage.
Expert interpretation: how to repair submarine optical cables?
The current Tonga submarine cable repair may be as long as four weeks? What are the difficulties in fixing? If submarine cables are destroyed, what other means of communication are not affected? Let's listen to the experts' answers.
Source: CCTV News