UPDATE: Public demonstration of HI CERT’s emergency Starlink communications system postponed to Sunday, January 28

UPDATE: Due to the forecast on Saturday, HI CERT is postponing the Starlink demonstration until Sunday, January 28, from noon to 2 p.m. Further postponement/rescheduling may be necessary if the weather doesn’t cooperate on Sunday. Updates will be posted as needed.

On Sunday, January 28, the Hatteras Island Community Emergency Response Team (HI CERT) will operate and demonstrate their new emergency Starlink communications system to team members and the public.

The demonstration and operational instruction will take place from noon – 2:00 p.m. at the Salvo Day Use area as part of the Winter Field Day event for amateur Ham radio operators.

“All are welcome and invited to attend!” stated HI CERT in a social media post. “Learn how to make free Wi-Fi calls from your cell phones during a communications outage.”

The demonstration is part of a new initiative by the non-profit organization to provide communication stations at strategic points throughout Hatteras Island in the event of an island-wide outage.

Over the course of 2023, HI CERT purchased three trailers, which are now outfitted with the new Starlink satellite systems. When needed, these stations will be set up at three central island locales – like Hatteras, the Tri-villages, and Avon or Buxton – with instructions posted on how to connect to the Starlink systems’ phone and internet.

As a result, when communications are down, residents and visitors will be able to drive up to the mobile trailer site, break out their cell phones or laptops, and reach out to the outside world.

The first station was successfully set up and utilized in December, after a communications outage in southern Hatteras Island.

For more information on the new communications stations and HI CERT, click here.