OAN Staff Abril Elfi
10:30 AM – Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk has teamed up with T-Mobile to provide Starlink’s direct-to-cell service for victims impacted by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
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On Tuesday, Musk posted on X (Twitter) that over 10,000 Starlink satellite kits have already been deployed to provide basic texting functionality.
“We have accelerated the rollout of Starlink direct to cell phone connectivity for areas affected by the hurricanes,” Musk wrote. “This is being provided free of charge by SpaceX and [T-Mobile] to help those in need.”
They continued, explaining that the satellites will provide emergency alerts and texts for all phones and carriers. T-Mobile phones have already been sent a notification to let customers know that they can additionally “text loved ones” and 9-1-1.
“The FCC has also rapidly approved emergency special temporary authority for coverage in Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton,” the company said.
To identify whether a phone is connected to a Starlink satellite, SpaceX will have one to two bars of signal and show “T-Mobile SpaceX” in the network name.
“Users may have to manually retry text messages if they don’t go through at first, as this is being delivered on a best-effort basis,” SpaceX also wrote on X. “The service works best outdoors, and occasionally works indoors near a window.”
On Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued a warning regarding Hurricane Milton, which is expected to make landfall later in the day.
“A large area of destructive storm surge, with highest inundations of 10 feet or greater, is expected along a portion of the west-central coast of the Florida Peninsula,” they said.
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