Pacific countries are still weighing Elon Musk's Starlink, despite hopes its satellites will connect their remote islands

By Doug Dingwall and Marian Kupu, ABC News

On a remote island in central Tonga, Glen Duncan needs the internet.

His resort in the Pacific Island nation's Ha'apai islands couldn't survive without a way to communicate with guests and monitor natural disaster warnings online.

And after one of Tonga's undersea cables was broken late last month - possibly by an earthquake - it is Elon Musk's Starlink internet keeping him connected.

It's not the first time he's relied on the service, after a volcanic eruption and tsunami cut off Tonga's internet in 2022.

"Without Starlink, our business would have already failed," Duncan said.

"We would have gone through many safety issues. It would be impossible for us to operate, absolutely impossible."

Other people in Ha'apai, and Vava'u in Tonga's north have turned to Starlink's low Earth orbit satellite internet after their undersea cable was disrupted.

But last week, the Tongan government moved to shut it down.

Starlink, which has been trying to gain a licence to operate permanently in Tonga, emailed customers to say the nation's communications ministry had told it to disable services.

A defiant Tongan government said it could not allow companies to provide internet without a licence, as members of the public vented their frustration with a petition gaining 1400 signatures.

"We aren't sure why Starlink is being banned when it's keeping us safe, allowing families to communicate and businesses to operate?" Duncan said.

On Friday, the government relented, granting Starlink an exemption from regulatory laws, letting it operate in Tonga for six months.

But as talks continue over a permanent presence for Starlink, its users say they need it for reliable internet access.

Some internet users criticise what they see as the government's reluctance to allow Starlink in Tonga, arguing it is trying to protect its own state-owned telecommunications companies.

The outcry in Tonga is the latest episode in the company's halting entrance into the Pacific.

Supporters say the benefits of its low Earth orbit satellite technology - allowing users to connect from remote areas - are obvious for a region where internet access remains scarce for many communities.

Authorities in Pacific countries say they understand the benefits of Starlink internet.

But many are yet to grant it a licence five years after its parent company, SpaceX, started launching satellites into space.

And some regulators in Pacific Island countries warn Starlink users their equipment will be confiscated at the border if they attempt to bring it in.

A long game

In an email to customers in Tonga last week, Starlink encouraged them to contact the country's communications ministry, in a bid to heap pressure on the government.

The ABC understands Starlink users have still been able to access the internet.

Customers who have brought in equipment from overseas and use roaming plans say they depend on its services.

"Access to reliable and high-speed internet is not merely a luxury but a necessity," the petition said.

Sam Vea, president of the Tonga Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said many business owners had embraced Starlink.

"They bring it in because the service is better and the cost is affordable compared to what's offered locally here in Tonga. And I think that will help everyone," he said.

Ane Tupou Fifita said Starlink helps her keep in touch with family and work colleagues in Australia.

"But also from a safety perspective, if anything happens to us in the country, I need to be able to have that reliable source of communication with my family back home," she said.

Some point out that when the tsunami triggered by the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'pai volcano severed the country's undersea cable in 2022, the government used equipment from Starlink to stay connected.

Former head of the Tonga Cable Limited, Edwin Liava'a, argues technology like Starlink's can help connect islands to faster internet - especially those too small and remote for telecommunications companies to build mobile phone towers.

"Just by that scenario, you can see the role that Starlink can play," he said.

But Liava'a said Tonga's government had delayed granting it a licence because it had an interest in two of its own internet companies, the wholesale provider Tongan Cable Ltd and retail provider Tonga Communications Corporation.

"It's all about protecting [their] own business interests," he said.

The Tongan government denies it has a conflict of interest in its decisions about Starlink's services.

Acting communication director at Tonga's department of communications Stan Ahio said the government would continue considering the company's application, weighing requirements about using local resellers and distributors, local banking and taxes, and annual return submissions.

"[Starlink] are very responsive, however, [these] decisions are not taken lightly and require more time.

"From the department's office, we are not denying the benefits Starlink can bring to the country."

Ahio said a decision about an ongoing licence would be made soon.

'It could cost lives'

For other Pacific Island nations, Starlink also promises internet that can better withstand frequent natural disasters.

And the reason for such hopes can fit inside a box.

A small antenna pointed at the sky establishes an internet connection for users, collecting a signal from Starlink's constellation of satellites, estimated to number more than 6,000.

Andrew Gray, a teacher on Vanuatu's Pentecost Island, said the technology would be useful in the aftermath of cyclones, which usually cut off internet access by damaging mobile phone towers.

When Tropical Cyclone Lola struck Pentecost in October last year, it struck the island's towers and cut off communications for much of the island.

It was his school's satellite dish that let Gray send photos of the devastation to the outside world.

"The official disaster agencies in [the capital city] Port Vila wanted to know where the most urgent needs are," he said.

"People wanted to know if there were any really urgent needs, particularly medical needs."

Gray said Starlink would be easier than using dishes like the school's, which are connected to geostationary satellites.

"Realigning a satellite dish, if you're not a technician and you're working with limited power, can be quite a pain," he said.

Glen Craig, chair of the Vanuatu Business Resilience Council, said Starlink internet was an "essential requirement" for post-cyclone responses.

"We are the most at-risk country in the world to natural disasters. We should have the best possible tools at the best prices available to us, and we shouldn't have any overwhelming regulatory roadblocks in the way of achieving that.

"If we don't have it in place, there is a chance it could cost lives."

Vanuatu's telecommunications regulator granted temporary permission for disaster management officials to use Starlink after the three cyclones that hit the nation last year.

But regulator Brian Winji said the company needed to clear one more hurdle - requiring a business licence from the Customs Department - before it received ongoing approval to operate in Vanuatu.

Until then, Vanuatu's Telecommunications Radiocommunications and Broadcasting Regulator has told internet users that Starlink equipment will be confiscated at the border.

A similar warning was issued early this year in Samoa.

But its telecommunications regulator said SpaceX now had a provisional licence to provide Starlink units for schools and health centres.

Samoa IT researcher Ioana Chan Mow said if granted a full licence, Starlink would enter a country that has already invested heavily in submarine cables, and that regulators would likely consider its impact on these.

She said it could lower internet costs by creating competition for established internet providers, and would be useful for the Pacific nation when it hosts the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting later this year.

"The issue with us right now, and I think Tonga and Vanuatu also have the same issues, is how do we balance the need to comply with local regulations with the need to attract foreign investment, especially great innovations that will make a difference here within the country?" she said.

In Papua New Guinea, where regulators have also considered a licence for Starlink, IT expert Samania Ned said its technology should be deployed in a way that would benefit all internet users.

"We don't want to see another monopoly in [internet service providers] in Papua New Guinea," she said.

Pacific countries don't need to look far if they want to see how Starlink might be received, if they decide to approve it.

In Fiji, where the company has received a licence, an authorised reseller has reportedly pre-sold hundreds of Starlink units - with much of the demand coming from rural areas long used to slower 3G internet.

The ABC contacted SpaceX for comment.

- ABC News