Laws governing undersea cables have hardly changed since 1884 – Tonga is a reminder they need modernising

An aerial view of heavy ash fall on the Tongan island of Nomuka. GettyImages

Since the catastrophic volcanic eruption on January 16, Tonga has been largely cut off from the world due to a break in the undersea cable that links Tonga with Fiji (and from there with the world). A complete fix may take weeks.

Aside from the distress and inconvenience this is causing, Tonga’s predicament demonstrates a more general vulnerability of our global communication system.