Southern Cross Cable reported that the eruption may have broken the Tonga Cable System, which connects Tonga to Southern Cross's trans-Pacific cable in Fiji. Southern Cross cited a fault in the international cable from Nukuʻalofa, and a further fault in a domestic cable from Nukuʻalofa. New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern had earlier stated that an undersea cable serving Tonga was affected, probably due to power cuts, and authorities were urgently attempting to restore communications. The chair of the Tonga Cable System, Samiuela Fonua, stated that repair crews would not be cleared to access the site of the faults before volcanic activity ceased at Hunga Tonga; with additional preparation time necessary for the repairs, internet services could be unavailable for over two weeks after the eruption. Limited satellite connectivity was established on 21 January, mobile phone provider Digicel established a 2G cell network on Tongatapu using a satellite dish from the University of the South Pacific. Reuters reported that a specialist cable repair ship would arrive at the Tongan archipelago on 30 January. On 4 February, the Associated Press reported that Fonua stated that repair crews would need to replace of cable, and that he hoped to have it restored the following week. On 8 February, the Matangi Tonga website reported that more breaks were suspected within the cable, delaying the cable's restoration to 20 February. Agence France-Presse followed up in a report on 15 February, stating that the cable was torn into multiple pieces and that a section of cable had been lost. The report also stated that separate sections of cable had been moved and buried under of silt. The cable being cut repeatedly and moved long distances is consistent with a turbidity current damaging it, similar to the 1929 Grand Banks earthquake. The cable connection to Tongatapu was repaired on 22 February.
