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Spectrum is offering 90,000 free Wi-Fi access points across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama to residents devastated by the impact of Hurricane Helene. Charter Communications announced the free Wi-Fi access points on Wednesday, on the same day it announced the allocation of $1 million to aid Hurricane Helene relief efforts.
The 90,000 Wi-Fi access points will be located in public areas (like parks or main city streets) and will be active until Oct. 7. You can find an access point near you with Spectrum's Out-of-Home Wi-Fi map.
Spectrum isn't the only major internet service provider offering services for Hurricane Helene relief. Starlink also announced plans to work with the federal government to offer free satellite internet throughout storm-ravaged communities for an entire month.
Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in Florida on Sept. 26, devastated countless communities where rural cities already had limited access to a decent internet connection.
Following the storm, thousands of households were cut off by internet and cellphone blackouts. According to the Federal Communications Commission, as of Tuesday, North Carolina counties Mitchell and Yancey still have 90% of cell service operations cut off. Cell service and internet are slowly coming back online for other affected communities.
In addition to Wi-Fi access points, Spectrum also announced that it will be working “with state and local agencies to provide temporary connectivity to relief and shelter locations where possible.”