During Hurricane Helene, which caused significant destruction in North Carolina, a team from Helium repurposed their technology to provide emergency cell service. With more than 20% of cell sites out of service due to the storm, Mark Phillips from Nova Labs proposed using Helium's hotspots to create a wireless hotspot for disaster relief. Within 48 hours, they developed a prototype called the 'Helium hotspot beacon'—a small off-grid cell tower powered by Starlink and Helium technology. Even with the backlog on Starlink terminals, Phillips managed to secure 20 in four days. The beacons provided essential connectivity in areas like Hendersonville, NC, receiving over 24,000 connections from residents. Unlike traditional solutions, Helium's portable beacon kits offer a flexible and scalable approach to enhancing wireless network resilience in disaster situations. Helium has since offered additional beacon kits to authorities in southern California, demonstrating the utility of decentralized infrastructure in emergency scenarios.

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