After days ofbrutal wildfiresthat have burned tens of thousands of acres in Los Angeles and turned thousands of homes to ash, internet service provider Spectrum is unlocking a number of its Wi-Fi hotspots for anyone to use.
They don’t require a login or account creation – just look for the Wi-Fi name on your rig and click in.
Spectrum, a regional ISP under Charter Communications, opened up over 35,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in the Los Angeles area for public use.
Anyone can look up their nearest hotspot onSpectrum’s websiteand then connect to the Wi-Fi data pipe called Spectrum Free Trial to get online, as KTLA tech reporter Rich DeMuro noted in aposton X (formerly Twitter).
Spectrum customers who’ve had equipment damaged or destroyed bythe wildfireswon’t be charged for damages, the company wrote ina blog post.
Those with power but without internet service will get credits until they’re back online, which will be applied for savings on their next bill.
Read more:Los Angeles Fires: Donations, Relief Efforts and How to Help Fire Victims
Other ISPs and carriers have stepped up to provide extra service while the wildfires rage.
T-Mobile and microsatellite web connection Starlink havetemporarily activated their partner serviceto let customers connect to Starlink’s phone-connecting satellite constellation (which the companiespreviously switched on to aid relief efforts for Hurricane Helenein the US Southeast, last October).
Though still in test mode, this online grid of microsatellites enables users to send SMS text messages and receive emergency alerts when outside T-Mobile’s online grid.
Verizon haswaived any call, text and data usage feesfor prepaid and postpaid customers in counties affected by thewildfiresuntil Jan. 18, while alsodonating a combined $1 millionto the American Red Cross and Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation.
AT&T iswaiving overage chargesfor unlimited talk, text and data to Southern California customers through Feb. 15, donating $100,000 to the American Red Cross and matching employee donations to several charities.
The carrier also set up a handful of rig charging stations for the public as well as deploying assistance to first responders.