According to a recent tweet from the government of the St. Charles Parish in Louisiana, in the United States, SpaceX’s Starlink is now providing internet to the area after Hurricane Ida compromised its networking and communications infrastructure.
Located along the banks of the Mississippi River in southeastern Louisiana, St. Charles Parish and its roughly 53,000 residents felt the brunt of Hurricane Ida. The settlement is reportedly dealing with more debris than what Hurricane Katrina left behind back in 2005.
“Communications is key in our recovery,” added the St. Charles Parish Government in their tweet on Saturday.
Thanks to @elonmusk and @SpaceX for getting us connected port #hurricaneida Communications is key in our recovery. @SpaceXStarlink pic.twitter.com/Gdfz48vWxb
— St. Charles Parish (@stcharlesgov) September 5, 2021
Starlink is SpaceX’s high-speed satellite broadband service designed to bridge the connectivity gap in rural/remote areas and provide fast, affordable internet across the globe.
Starlink has also taken it upon itself to provide internet connectivity to areas affected by natural disasters or where ground communications have been disrupted or simply aren’t available. Back in July, Starlink started providing free internet to flooded parts of Germany.
As of August, Starlink has 90,000+ active users in 12 countries, with over 100,000 Starlink terminals shipped so far. SpaceX expects Starlink to achieve global coverage sometime this month, and a recent filing revealed the company’s plans for 30,000 second-generation Starlink satellites.
