Elon Musk provides free Starlink terminals to areas impacted by LA wildfires
LOS ANGELES - Elon Musk announced that SpaceX is providing free Starlink terminals to those impacted by the wildfires burning across Los Angeles County.
He made the announcement Wednesday night while retweeting FOX 11's Chelsea Edwards who credited Starlink for providing connection and being able to broadcast.
"There is no electricity, there is no cell service. The only reason you are able to see us right now is because of a Starlink connection we just got today. That's the only reason we are able to hear and communicate with you guys right now," Edwards said live on FOX 11.
On Thursday night, SpaceX said their Starlink team and T-Mobile have enabled basic texting (SMS) through their Direct to Cell satellites.
"Texting should now work in LA even when there is no cellular service if you use T-Mobile," Musk tweeted.
Due to the raging fires, power and electricity were knocked out to several areas in the fire zone.
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According to the Starlink website, Starlink is the "world's first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls and more."
Starlink has capabilities of delivering high-speed, low-latency internet to people around the world.