Starlink Provides Emergency Internet Network For Storm Milton Victims

Portrait of Hurricane Milton from space (photo: dock. NASA)

JAKARTA SpaceX received temporary approval to provide Direct to Cell services for the people of Florida. This satellite-based emergency internet network is being prepared to deal with Hurricane Milton.

Through platform X, the company owned by Elon Musk explained that they had received special authority from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). After obtaining permission, SpaceX has activated more than 100 Direct to Cell satellites in the affected areas.

"The Starlink and T-Mobile teams activated our Direct to Cell satellites to provide emergency warnings for all mobile phones and operators in the affected areas. The FCC has also approved a special emergency interim authority," SpaceX said.

In addition to providing hundreds of satellites for all devices and operators, SpaceX has also activated an emergency text messaging service in the form of SMS for T-Mobile customers. Through this service, users can receive emergency warnings and send messages to 911 or family.

"If the phone is connected to the Starlink satellite, the phone will have 1 to 2 signal bars and display 'T-Mobile SpaceX' on the network name," explains SpaceX. "This service works best outdoors, and sometimes works indoors near the window."

Hurricane Milton is a strong wind formed as tropical depression over the Gulf of Mexico, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The storm emerged on October 5 at a standard pace, but began to change in 24 hours.

On October 6, Hurricane Milton rose to category 1 with wind speeds of 35mph. 24 hours later, the intensity of this wind speed increased again to 95mph and peaked on October 7 at a speed of 180mph. Now, Hurricane Milton is in category 5.

When entering the maximal category, this storm was able to damage the entire house, destroy power lines, make trees fall, and other major damage. If the community is not evacuated, this very large storm could cause casualties.

Milton is the fifth-strongest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. Category 5 storms are rare, even recorded only in six different years. This storm has occurred more than once in 1950, twice in 1961, four times in 2005, and twice in 2007, 2017, and 2019.