ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Communities isolated after Helene may be eligible for free satellite Internet service from Starlink.
"Starlink aims to enable anyone impacted by a natural disaster to be able to access internet connectivity," the Elon Musk-owned company says on its website. "For those in areas that were impacted by Hurricane Helene, Starlink is available and temporarily offering free service for the first month."
The free service was expected to be available as early as Wednesday, according to a post Musk made on his social media platform X.
"We are making a system update to allow all Starlinks in the affected areas to work, regardless of payment," Musk wrote on Tuesday.
The privately-owned Starlink service has become vital for communities without cell phone service and the Internet.
Helene, one of the deadliest storms in recent U.S. history, knocked out power and cellular service for millions. More than 1.2 million customers still were in the dark early Wednesday in the Carolinas and Georgia.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced it is providing 40 Starlink satellite systems to the area to help with responder communications. One Starlink will be deployed per each county Emergency Operations Center, according to FEMA.
Additional Starlink satellites have been donated to relief efforts by private citizens.
Shawn Hendrix, the chief of staff for North Carolina-based YouTuber MrBeast, was quote tweeted by Musk showing a delivery of Starlinks to western North Carolina.
To be eligible for free Starlink service, you must reside in the impacted area, according to the company. The service is also eligible for first responders. On its website, the company did not specifically name the eligible regions.
The free service offer is good for 30 days, according to Starlink. After 30 days, the company said it will reevaluate the need for the free service and said they expect to move customers over to paid subscriptions.
But some people claimed the offer was not actually free, and contained hidden costs.
Starlink internet service will be free to hurricane victims through the end of the year, but accessing that service requires a physical terminal that costs nearly $400.
Just like satellite TV requires a dish and cable internet requires a modem, Starlink internet needs a physical terminal to operate.
On Starlink’s webpage about hurricane relief, the company specifies, “A Starlink kit is required to access this free service. If you do not already have a Starlink kit, you will need to purchase one.”
The hardware (which consists of a medium-sized rectangular dish atop a kickstand, along with a router and cables) costs $349, according to the website. That’s in addition to shipping, handling, and taxes – which Starlink priced at an additional $45.83 for an address in Asheville, N.C. Meaning, a hurricane victim in Asheville who does not already own a terminal would need to pay just under $394.83 before they could access the free service.
They could theoretically get the $349 back if they returned the terminal undamaged within 30 days, according to the company’s return policy, though the shipping fees and taxes aren't refundable.
Starlink’s website says once the kit is installed, customers in affected areas will receive free internet service through the end of the year. After that, they will be automatically enrolled in the company’s standard residential internet plan, which costs $120 per month.
Originally the offer was only for 30 days of free service, but on Friday Starlink announced it would be extending the free plans through the end of the year before paid enrollment would begin.
Despite some claims on social media, the paid plan is not a contract, and can be canceled at any time, per the Starlink terms of service.
For those who do already own a terminal, the free period will not come automatically, according to the current instructions on Starlink’s webpage. Users in the qualifying areas can receive “a Hurricane relief credit” off their bill if they file a ticket with customer support, the site says.
Starlink says a typical unit takes three weeks to ship.
Tech news publication The Register reported that the number of people for whom the offer would be useful is relatively small, as the Starlink unit also requires electricity, and it would be unusual for someone to have power restored and be accessible to a delivery vehicle, but still not have internet, in three weeks time.
Starlink is also being used by some first responders, according to FEMA. The agency describes the units as having been purchased by the government, not donated by the company.
Elon Musk has also celebrated another service being offered by Starlink called “direct to cell.” The system aims to eventually be able to provide satellite phone calls, texting, and data coverage by connecting the satellites to cell towers and phones rather than Starlink terminals, but is currently in its early stages and only capable of certain alerts and text messages.
Starlink says right now it is helping to provide emergency alerts to people in the disaster zone. It also says that some texting may be available to T-Mobile customers only, though says “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.”
Similar services are offered by non-Starlink satellites and can be accessed by all iPhone users with iOS 18 who cannot access cellular data or Wi-Fi, according to Apple.