In the wake of Hurricane Melissa’s devastation, Liberty Caribbean, operators of Flow Jamaica and Liberty Business, has successfully restored data messaging connectivity to over 70% of its mobile data customers. This achievement was made possible through a collaboration with Starlink’s Direct to Cell satellites, which provided emergency connectivity via SMS and text services as the hurricane made landfall in St. Elizabeth early Tuesday morning.
The Spectrum Management Authority and the Ministry of Energy, Transport, and Telecommunications approved the necessary spectrum for this initiative, enabling Liberty Caribbean to integrate Starlink’s advanced satellite technology. Inge Smidts, CEO of Liberty Caribbean, emphasized the importance of this service, stating, ‘The availability of our FLOW Essential service provided basic SMS and text messaging during the hurricane. We worked closely with Starlink to restore as many communication options as possible, and now we’re able to offer data messaging connectivity to over 70% of our mobile data customers.’
Smidts highlighted the critical role of communication in the nation’s recovery efforts, noting, ‘The ability to communicate will be crucial as we rebuild. We wanted to give our customers one less thing to worry about.’ This partnership ensures island-wide network redundancy, delivering seamless satellite connectivity directly to mobile customers while local infrastructure remains unavailable.
Liberty Caribbean, a subsidiary of Liberty Latin America, operates in over 20 Caribbean markets, providing broadband, mobile, video, and voice services through its consumer brands Flow and BTC. Its B2B division, Liberty Business, supports economic growth with enterprise-grade connectivity, cloud, security, and data center services.
Starlink Direct to Cell, the world’s largest satellite constellation with over 650 low-Earth orbit satellites, offers data, voice, video, and messaging services in mobile dead zones. Its advanced phased array antennas act like cell towers in space, enabling seamless global connectivity. Starlink partners with Mobile Network Operators worldwide to enhance 4G coverage and network integration.