According to yesterday’s FCC outage reporting, large areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, particularly in Western North Carolina, remain without cell phone service. In counties like Buncombe, where Asheville is located, approximately 56% of cell sites are still down, mainly due to transport issues and power outages.
AT&T said it has responded to more than 140 requests for FirstNet deployable assets, calling the Helene response “one of the largest mobilizations of our disaster recovery assets for emergency connectivity support.”
The situation is even worse in neighboring counties such as Mitchell, where 90% of the county’s cell sites are out of service, followed by Yancey County, with 82% as tower crews work around the clock to restore communications.
The FCC’s October 2, 2024 status report is available here.
In addition, significant outages have also been reported in parts of Georgia and South Carolina. Restoration efforts are ongoing, with crews working to deploy temporary solutions such as mobile cell towers and satellite backhaul to restore connectivity.
The confirmed death toll for Hurricane Helene rose to at least 189 people as of Wednesday evening, making it the deadliest hurricane since Katrina to hit the mainland U.S. In 2005, 1,392 people died from Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane.
Musk offers Free Starlink internet to impacted areas
SpaceX is deploying Starlink satellite broadband systems to North Carolina to assist communities affected by Hurricane Helene regain internet access. “Since the Hurricane Helene disaster, SpaceX has sent as many Starlink terminals as possible to support areas in need,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced on the social platform X.
In collaboration with FEMA, 50 Starlink terminals and 65 satellite phones have been provided to North Carolina for responder communications. The White House reported on Wednesday that an additional 140 terminals are en route to aid in restoring communications infrastructure. Each county’s emergency operations center will receive a Starlink terminal to ensure stable communications.
Elon Musk’s company announced that communities impacted by Hurricane Helene may receive free satellite internet from Starlink. The service, aimed at helping those affected by natural disasters, is expected to be available as early as this morning and continue for at least 30 days.
Musk confirmed via his social platform X that Starlink systems in affected areas will work, regardless of payment. Helene, one of the deadliest storms in recent U.S. history, left millions without power or cellular service in the Carolinas and Georgia. Over 1.2 million customers remained without power yesterday.
Complete eligibility requirements and activation instructions are available on the Starlink website
