After days of brutal wildfire that burned tens of thousands of acres in Los Angeles and burned thousands of homes, internet service provider Spectrum opened several of its Wi-Fi hotspots for anyone to use. They don’t require a login or account creation — just search for your device’s Wi-Fi name and click.
Spectrum, a regional ISP under Charter Communications, has opened more than 35,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in the Los Angeles area for public use. Anyone can find their nearest hotspot on Spectrum’s website and then connect to a Wi-Fi network called Spectrum Free Trial to get online, KTLA tech reporter Rich DeMuro said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Spectrum customers with equipment damaged or destroyed by the forest fires will not be charged for damages, the company wrote a blog post. Those with power but no internet service will receive credits until they are back online, which can be used toward savings on their next bill.
Read more: Los Angeles Fires: Donations, Relief Efforts and How to Help Fire Victims
Some ISPs and carriers are stepping up to provide more service as the wildfires rage. T-Mobile and microsatellite network Starlink have temporarily activated their partner service to allow customers to connect to the Starlink connecting telephone satellite constellation (which companies previously transferred to assist in relief efforts for Hurricane Helene in the US Southeast, in October). Although still in test mode, this network of microsatellites will enable users to send SMS text messages and receive emergency alerts outside of T-Mobile’s network.
Verizon has waived any call, text and data usage charges for prepaid and postpaid customers in the provinces affected by forest fires until January 18, while also donated a combined $1 million to the American Red Cross and Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation. AT&T is elimination of overage charges for unlimited talk, text and data to customers in Southern California through February 15, donating $100,000 to the American Red Cross and matching employee donations to several charities. The carrier also set up several device charging stations for the public as well as deploying assistance to first responders.