FCC Approves Emergency Cellular Starlink Service for Hurricane Helene Victims

The FCC has granted approval for SpaceX to temporarily operate its direct-to-cell Starlink service in areas impacted by Hurricane Helene.

Starlink’s cellular service went online on Saturday in North Carolina. Though Starlink is officially partnering with T-Mobile, this emergency service supports phones regardless of carrier.

“The satellites have already been enabled and started broadcasting emergency alerts to cell phones on all networks in North Carolina,” SpaceX tweeted on Sunday. “In addition, we may test basic texting (SMS) capabilities for most cell phones on the T-Mobile network in North Carolina.”

T-Mobile added: “While SpaceX’s direct-to-cell constellation has not been fully deployed, we felt that getting even this early test version into the hands of people on the ground could provide vital support as teams work to get infrastructure and services back online and help first responders with rescue efforts.”

The FCC responded to the post with its own statement, adding that it’s “ready to do all that it necessary to return connectivity to hard-hit areas and save lives.”

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Western North Carolina, South Carolina, and parts of southeastern Georgia and eastern Tennessee have been devastated by Helene, which tore through the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, and parts of the southeast, flooding neighborhoods, destroying roads, and claiming at least 220 lives. Entire areas also lost water, electricity, roads, gas lines, homes, businesses, pets, and livestock. Recent estimates indicate Helene damage may exceed $30 billion.

Starlink is coming to these areas because cell phones have lost service due to cell tower and electrical damage. One power outage tracker suggests that over 100,000 people are still without electricity in North Carolina alone as of Monday.

SpaceX hasn’t fully deployed all of its Starlink direct-to-cell satellites, and AT&T and Verizon have requested that the FCC reject a plan to allow cellular Starlink satellites to operate beyond normal radio frequency parameters, citing concerns it would interfere with their networks. Both carriers are also prepping their own cellular satellite systems through AST SpaceMobile.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also lashed out at the FCC recently over federal funding, but he and Senior Director of Satellite Engineering Ben Longmier thanked the agency this weekend for approving the cellular Starlink service.

As the southeast reels from the extensive Helene damage, another hurricane may be on the way. Milton is predicted to become a Category 3 hurricane and hit Florida sometime this week. Afterward, it’s expected to continue east into the Atlantic.

“We are also closely monitoring Hurricane Milton and standing by ready to take action in Florida,” Longmier tweeted.

About Kate Irwin

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I’m a reporter for PCMag covering tech news early in the morning. Prior to joining PCMag, I was a producer and reporter at Decrypt and launched its gaming vertical, GG. I have previously written for Input, Game Rant, Dot Esports, and other places, covering a range of gaming, tech, crypto, and entertainment news.

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