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FCC often grants emergency temporary approvals in

disasters

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T-Mobile's network nearly fully restored in affected

regions

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal

Communications Commission on Sunday allowed Elon Musk's SpaceX

and T Mobile to enable Starlink satellites with

direct-to-cell capability to provide coverage for cellphones in

areas of North Carolina hard-hit by Hurricane Helene.

The FCC often grants such emergency temporary approvals

during disasters to help restore wireless and internet services

in badly impacted areas and to allow for testing.

An FCC spokesperson said on Sunday that the agency remains

"committed to helping with recovery efforts in states affected

by Hurricane Helene. We stand ready to do all that is necessary

to return connectivity to hard-hit areas and save lives."

SpaceX said the satellites "have already been enabled and

started broadcasting emergency alerts to cellphones on all

networks in North Carolina." The company said it may "test basic

texting (SMS) capabilities for most cell phones on the T-Mobile

network in North Carolina."

On Sept. 28, more than 74% of cell towers were out of

service in disaster-impacted areas of North Carolina due to the

devastation caused by Helene. The FCC said on Sunday that figure

has fallen to 17% as crews work to restore service.

"While SpaceX's direct-to-cell constellation has not been

fully deployed, we felt that getting even this early test

version into the hands of people on the ground could provide

vital support as teams work to get infrastructure and services

back online and help first responders with rescue efforts," T

Mobile said on Sunday.

The company added that its "network is almost fully

restored along affected regions, with less than 1% of network

sites in specific areas where conditions remain particularly

challenging not connected."

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said that "the focus is on

enabling emergency alerts to smartphones."

Carr added that "it is important to manage expectations

here. Starlink does not have a full constellation of

direct-to-cell satellites in space yet. ... Starlink is giving

this a shot nonetheless to help address the serious need for

connectivity in these disaster areas."

T Mobile said in January that SpaceX had launched a Falcon 9

rocket with the first set of Starlink satellites that can beam

phone signals from space directly to smartphones. The companies

announced plans to provide mobile users with network access in

parts of the United States in August 2022. T Mobile said at the

time that the direct-to-cell service would begin with text

messaging followed by voice and data capabilities in the coming

years.