KINGSTON, JAMAICA – As the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season prepares to kick off officially on June 1, leading regional telecommunications provider Liberty Caribbean – parent brand of consumer service Flow, enterprise-focused Liberty Business, and Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) – has announced it is fully positioned to support communities, customers, and government partners across the Caribbean through extreme weather events.
The company’s latest readiness push comes one year after Hurricane Melissa battered Jamaica, a disaster that company leadership says underscored just how critical robust, disaster-resilient communications infrastructure is for the hurricane-prone Caribbean region. In a formal public statement released Monday, Liberty Caribbean emphasized that its more than 100 years of operating across the Caribbean has guided its ongoing work to boost preparedness, systems resilience, and emergency response capacity for regional stakeholders.
“Hurricane Melissa reminded us once again that connectivity is far more than technology. In moments of crisis, it becomes a lifeline for families, businesses, emergency responders, and governments,” said Inge Smidts, Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Caribbean.
Smidts added that the hard lessons learned from last year’s storm have reinforced the company’s commitment to expanding regional investments in network hardening, operational preparedness, and post-disaster recovery capabilities. “We remain committed to ensuring our customers and communities can rely on us when it matters most,” she said.
Over the 12 months following Hurricane Melissa, Liberty Caribbean has rolled out a series of strategic infrastructure investments across its multiple Caribbean market footprints to boost disaster resilience. In Jamaica alone, upgrades include a full modernization and expansion of the island’s mobile network, expanded spectrum capacity, increased transport route diversity to avoid single points of failure, hardened physical infrastructure to withstand high winds and flooding, expanded backup power systems, and additional network redundancy measures designed to improve overall service reliability and cut down on recovery time after outages.
Beyond infrastructure upgrades, the company has also conducted a full cycle of emergency simulation exercises and response drills across all operating markets, finalized pre-season fuel stockpiling and logistics coordination plans, and aligned cross-functional response teams to enable rapid mobilization if storms trigger service disruptions this season.
“Our teams have worked tirelessly to modernise our infrastructure, strengthen operational readiness, and improve how we respond during emergencies. While no network is immune to extreme weather events, our focus remains on building stronger, smarter, and more resilient systems capable of supporting the Caribbean through disruption and recovery alike,” Smidts noted.
Forecasters at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s National Weather Service are projecting a below-normal 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season, which will run through the end of November. NOAA’s outlook puts the odds of a below-normal season at 55%, compared to a 35% chance of a near-normal season and just a 10% chance of an above-normal season.
The official NOAA forecast calls for 8 to 14 total named storms (systems with sustained winds of at least 39 miles per hour, or 63 km/h). Of those, 3 to 6 are expected to strengthen into hurricanes with sustained winds of 75 miles per hour or higher, with 1 to 3 projected to intensify into major Category 3, 4, or 5 hurricanes that carry sustained winds of 115 mph or more. By comparison, an average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes.
Smidts emphasized that even with a milder forecast, Liberty Caribbean remains committed to standing by regional communities before, during, and after any storm event. “We understand the responsibility that comes with serving the Caribbean. Our commitment extends beyond connectivity alone. It is also about supporting the resilience of the communities we serve and standing beside them before, during, and after times of crisis,” she said.
To close, the company is urging all residential and business customers across its service footprint to update and review their own personal hurricane preparedness plans, and to stay updated on official weather forecasts throughout the June to November hurricane season.