Flow, Starlink partner to boost connectivity after Hurricane Melissa

Telecommunications Minister Daryl Vaz says Flow has partnered with Elon Musk-owned satellite provider Starlink to deliver mobile connectivity via satellite, allowing Jamaicans to send text messages even if local networks go down after Hurricane Melissa.

"That's huge, very huge," he said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Vaz said he is looking forward to a similar arrangement with Digicel.

Meanwhile, Vaz said 26 per cent of Digicel’s mobile network remains offline due to widespread power outages.

Further, Vaz said 20 per cent of the company's fibre to the homes of customers are offline due to no power in their homes.

A further 209 Digicel cell sites are running on generators and nine on batteries.

Meantime, he said he has signed licences for additional spectrum for Flow (Liberty Caribbean) and that he is expecting to do the same for Digicel.

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