Updated The free Starlink service that Elon Musk and SpaceX so generously promised to U.S. communities devastated by Hurricane Helene isn’t actually completely free, say those who live by it — and the satellite operator’s own sign-up page.

There’s one key caveat: you’re still expected to foot the bill for the hardware.

Starlink’s Twitter account declared in a post last week with tens of millions of views: “Starlink is now free for 30 days.” The world’s richest man, with a net worth of around $260 billion, added in quite a PR coup , that all Starlink terminals would now operate automatically, “without requiring payment in areas affected by Hurricane Helene.”

But try signing up for the supposedly “free” service in an area that Starlink has designated as a Helene disaster area, and surprise: you still have to pay for the terminal (normally $350, but supposedly down to $299 -Dollars for disaster relief reduced). not listed on Starlink’s sign-up page), plus shipping and taxes, bringing the total to just under $400.

You can see for yourself in the video below; Providing the city hall address in Boone, North Carolina, one of the areas devastated by the deadly superstorm, shows that people recovering from the disaster are still expected to pay hundreds for this free, month-long Starlink service . Although it is better than nothing, it is not quite the humanitarian aid that it was advertised and announced as.

Youtube video

If you look closely at the details on Starlink’s Hurricane Helene help page, you might think it’s a ploy to attract new customers in far-flung places.

According to the Starlink Helene page, after 30 days, new customers eligible for free access will automatically be upgraded to a paid private subscription for $120 per month, tied to the location for which the terminal was set up.

Meanwhile, existing customers who already have a court and want their fees waived as a result of the disaster will need to create a support ticket, which Starlink will later review for a waiver. Not quite as clear as Musk’s promise that all terminals in the affected areas would be served “without payment.”

In the words of Boone resident Kinney Baughman, the offer appears to be more like “a cunning bait-and-switch… designed to take advantage of people rather than help them.”

The Register interviewed Baughman — a philosophy professor and IT professional whose power was just restored after Helene — about what he saw on the ground from SpaceX’s Starlink. Spoiler alert: He’s not impressed.

Baughman told us that after Musk made the free service offer, the North Carolinian received calls from friends asking if it was worth signing up, and he said: Yes, it is — in limited cases.

“There may be isolated scenarios where what (Musk) is offering will be a service,” Baughman said. “But we’re talking about cases where someone is on the way up, doesn’t have access to cell service and the fiber is broken by the flooding. It takes months to get reception. In that case, you may want to think about (Starlink).”

But that was an isolated incident, Baughman noted. By the time Starlink arrives for others, general internet service may already be working, forcing someone to pay for a satellite service they don’t actually need.

“If UPS can drive a truck to your house (to deliver the Starlink receiver), you’re not in such bad shape,” Baughman said. So if you get this terminal, you may not really need it anymore. It arrives within Starlink’s 2-3 week delivery window.

And that doesn’t even take into account the need to power the thing.

“Assuming someone can get over the one or two, if not more, bridges and physically get their hands on the device, you still need power to run the thing,” Baughman noted. “Thousands of people still don’t have power and hundreds if not thousands of them don’t have a generator.”

“It’s presenting to a broad audience that I’m going to give you free internet,” Baughman concluded of Musk’s offer. But it’s not free at all, he said, making it nothing more than a “play on the desperation” of North Carolinians still trying to recover and a public relations campaign about little.

“If someone comes along and says I’m giving you free internet, people go crazy,” Baughman said. “Starlink touches the hearts of people overwhelmed by disaster.”

Fine print and reality get in the way

It’s also difficult to sign up for broadband internet service without internet. And if you already have enough cell service to sign up, you might be wondering why you should wait weeks to get signed up for a paid satellite service.

Register Editor Nicole Hemsoth Prickett took advantage of the “free” service for a joyride on a destroyed, closed stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway deep in the Helene damage area, clicked on the $0 offer, and ended up with a shopping cart totaling nearly $400. Dollar.

“Like everyone else using what little battery my phone had, I navigated to starlink.com/activate using SOS bars and no connection, only to realize it wasn’t actually free,” she said. “I could connect to an active website in the middle of nowhere, which really means data connectivity could actually work again, but not for you with Starlink unless you go along with it. For many here who thought about free internet, it was an insult to the point of injury.” Space Magic was real.

Musk said Starlink terminals are being used in public buildings such as city halls, fire departments and the like, and evidence terminals have been placed at these locations.

However, “there are a lot of people who still can’t get there,” Baughman said.

Musk appeared to acknowledge the shortcomings of his previous plan to deliver Starlink terminals directly to some locations. tell Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson said that when Starlink first wanted to distribute dishes in North Carolina, it was not allowed to land any of its helicopters to deliver the hardware because of interim rules that required any plane landing in the disaster area to know who it was was met with.

“It’s obviously impossible for people without internet communication to tell us who they are because they don’t have the internet,” Musk said, while crediting U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for resolving the situation and presumably approving Musk’s helicopters. after a telephone conversation.

“No one is closing airspace and the FAA is not blocking legitimate rescue and recovery flights,” Buttigieg said on X. “If you run into a problem, call me.”

The White House detailed its efforts to help those affected by the hurricane here.

Sales offensive

Interestingly, as Baughman pointed out, Helene Starlink’s offering appears to be fairly close to the 30-day trial that the SpaceX subsidiary offers to new private customers. But there are differences. This 30-day trial offer allows users to return the hardware for a full refund after this period. The $120 trial service fee is non-refundable. The marketing surrounding it has misled some into thinking it is a 30-day free service with the option to withdraw entirely and receive a full refund if you are dissatisfied with the connectivity.

The Helene offer, on the other hand, includes 30 days of free service, provided you already have a dish or are willing to buy it, knowing that you will switch to a paid plan immediately afterwards.

“(Musk) is building a customer base,” Baughman concluded.

We note that SpaceX is also working with the FCC to make its direct-to-cellular satellite service available to people in North Carolina, although it is not yet known whether the service will be practical for anything other than receiving emergency push -Notifications will be usable.

“The satellites have already been activated and have begun sending emergency alerts to cell phones on all networks in North Carolina,” SpaceX said on in North Carolina.”

However, “SpaceX’s direct-to-cell constellation has not yet been fully deployed, so all services are provided on a best-faith basis,” the aerospace giant added.

We reached out to SpaceX and Musk to get their perspective, and despite numerous emails, we haven’t heard back from either one.

“If (Musk) was really interested in helping us up here, he would give the equipment, make it available to people for 30 days, collect it and send it to Florida,” Baughman said, referring to Hurricane Milton The storm, which is currently gathering strength in the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to be one of the most devastating storms ever to hit the state of Florida.

Floridians, beware: Beware of geeks bearing gifts in the coming days. ®

Updated to be added at 1830 UTC

Apparently the Starlink help page for Helene communities has been updated since this article was published with the following caveat:

Yesterday, this notice was not on this page, as recorded by the Internet Archive. We have also explained the conditions of the trial accommodation offer in our insurance cover. We will be happy to help you.