Starlink, compact cell towers deployed in NC mountains with ‘blackout zones’ common after Helene devastation

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — With telephone and fiber optic lines cut and most cellphone service out in the North Carolina mountains following Hurricane Helene flooding, areas are turning to other technologies to help with communication.

Asheville has been described by many on social media as a “blackout zone” for making calls, texting or accessing the internet. Other communities in many western North Carolina are also without reliable communications after fiber optic lines buried beside roads were damaged or cell towers were knocked offline.

In Asheville, some people have brought in Starlink satellite internet access and are allowing people to connect for free.

Elsewhere, such as Enka-Candler Fire Department Station 10 in Buncombe County, crews set up a Compact Rapid Deployable cell tower and internet access point.

The mini cellphone towers with a generator allow for cellphone coverage up to 2 miles and Wi-Fi range of up to 500 feet. The small towers use a high-speed Ka-Band satellite terminal to access the internet after the cell towers connect with end-user phones or computers.

An Illinois team set up the small cell tower at the Candler fire station on Friday.

“This gave internet and cell signals back to the local first responders,” the team from Illinois called HQ Mabas said.

Meanwhile, several people have set up Starlink systems, a small device that accesses the internet from a constellation of satellites owned by SpaceX.

At least two Starlinks are up in Asheville with one at the shelter at the Ferguson Building
on Victoria Road and another at the DoubleTree Hilton on Haywood Street in downtown Asheville.

Several fire departments have also set up Starlink systems, including one at the Linville Volunteer Fire Department, on N.C. 105 just north of Linville in Avery County.

Another Starlink was set up in Fletcher in Henderson County at the Fletcher Academy.

A retirement community at Lake Lure in Rutherford County also set up a Starlink with residents using Facetime to communicate with distant families, The Landings of Lake Lure said.

Larger cell systems, called SatCOLTs, are set up in several counties. These systems are “Satellite Cells on Light Trucks” and have a larger satellite dish and larger, taller cell connection antennas.

Verizon reported it has a SatCOLT in Hendersonville, another at the Tractor Supply in Asheville and plan others at the Mission Hospital in Asheville and the Cherokee County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Murphy.

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