After days of brutal wildfires that have burned tens of thousands of acres in Los Angeles and reduced thousands of homes to ashes, Internet service provider Spectrum is opening a number of its Wi-Fi hotspots for general use. They don’t require logging in or creating an account: just find the Wi-Fi name on your device and click on it.
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 search for the nearest hotspot on The Spectrum website then connect to the Wi-Fi network called Spectrum Free Trial to connect, as KTLA tech reporter Rich DeMuro noted in an article. job on X (formerly Twitter).
Spectrum customers whose equipment has been damaged or destroyed by forest fires will not be charged for the damage, the company wrote in a blog post. Those who have electricity but no internet access will receive credits until they are connected again, which will be used to save money on their next bill.
Learn more: Los Angeles Fires: Donations, Relief Efforts and How to Help Fire Victims
Other ISPs and carriers have stepped up to provide additional services as wildfires rage. T-Mobile and the Starlink microsatellite network have temporarily activated their partner service to allow customers to connect to Starlink’s telephone connection satellite constellation (which the companies previously activated to aid relief efforts following Hurricane Helene in the southeastern United States last October). Although still in testing mode, this microsatellite network allows users to send SMS text messages and receive emergency alerts when outside of T-Mobile’s network.
Verizon has waived all call, text and data usage charges for prepaid and postpaid customers in counties affected by the forest fires until January 18, while make a combined donation of $1 million to the American Red Cross and the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation. AT&T is waive overage fees for unlimited talk, text and data to Southern California customers through February 15, donating $100,000 to the American Red Cross and matching employee donations to multiple charities charities. The carrier also set up a handful of device charging stations for the public and deployed assistance to first responders.
