Preparedness
Response
Recovery
Mitigation
Post-Hurricane Starlink Satellite Internet Connectivity Deployments Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM)
Prime Contractor: Tidal Basin
Project Dates: September 2022 – November 2024
In the aftermath of major disasters, reliable communications are essential to emergency response and community recovery. When multiple hurricanes severely damaged or destroyed traditional infrastructure, Tidal Basin partnered with the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) to deploy and manage Starlink satellite communication systems, delivering high-speed, low-latency internet access to government agencies, first responders, essential businesses, and the public. Project Overview
Tidal Basin deployed 140 Starlink satellite communications units for Hurricane Idalia
Challenge
Between September 2022 and October 2024, Florida was struck by multiple major hurricanes. Hurricane Ian (Category 4) hit Southwest Florida in September 2022, becoming the deadliest Florida hurricane since 1935, with 157 fatalities. In 2023 and 2024, Hurricanes Idalia (Category 3), Debby (Category 1), Helene (the strongest storm to hit the Big Bend region), and Milton (Category 3) made landfall, causing widespread damage—particularly to communications infrastructure—and severely impacting the Big Bend and west coast regions.
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Case Study Florida Division of Emergency Management | Starlink Deployment
Solutions
From 2022 to 2024, Tidal Basin supported FDEM during five catastrophic hurricanes, deploying scalable satellite communications across the State of Florida and beyond. Hurricane Ian (2022) Tidal Basin provided program management, deployment and demobilization, technical support, business analysis, user acceptance testing, inventory management, and logistics management of critical communications systems in Southwest Florida. • 600+ satellite units deployed • 20 public hotspot sites established in heavily impacted communities • 7-day-a-week staffing to assist residents with internet access Hurricane Idalia (2023) We supported FDEM with program management, deployment and demobilization, technical support, inventory management, and logistics management of the State’s Starlink communications systems. • 140 units deployed across the Big Bend region • Full logistics coordination and WebEOC tracking • Post-response inventory reconciliation and storage at the State Logistics Resource Center (SLRC) Hurricane Debby (2024) Tidal Basin deployed its Starlink team to provide internet and cellular communications equipment to the government, essential businesses, and the public. • 550+ units deployed statewide • Systems positioned in all 67 counties to enhance future readiness
To improve delivery timeliness, we mobilized units from the State Logistics Resource Center (SLRC) in Orlando and transported those to Tallahassee, operating two points of distribution, and transported units back to SLRC following the response. Hurricanes Helene & Milton (2024) Our team of expert tech support and logistics specialists was on the ground prior to Helene’s landfall, prepared to provide Starlink communications immediately after the weather subsided. We rushed Starlink units to impacted counties supporting Emergency Operations Centers, Multi-Agency Resource Centers, law enforcement, and other operations and recovery functions. • Pre-landfall mobilization and rapid post-storm deployment • Strategic relocation of inventory to protect and surge resources • Quality control and integration of 400 new Starlink units into state inventory With Milton on the horizon, we rapidly transported the bulk of the State’s remaining inventory from the State Logistics Resource Center (SLRC) in Orlando, to Lehigh Acres, Florida, 150 miles south. This move ensured the protection and availability of additional resources, playing a key role in the ability to surge telecommunications capabilities when Milton made landfall. Following Hurricane Helene, Florida pledged Starlink systems to assist flood-impacted communities in North Carolina and Tennessee. We prepared and deployed 100+ units within 24 hours, activated subscriptions, and provided technical support in coordination with on-the-ground teams.
Resilience Delivered
• 1,390+ satellite communications units deployed across multiple disasters • P ublic connectivity restored in severely impacted communities • C ommunications support provided to Emergency Operations Centers in all 67 Florida counties • E nhanced statewide readiness and telecommunications resilience
Through disciplined logistics, technical expertise, and proactive planning, Tidal Basin enabled FDEM to maintain operational continuity and deliver critical communications when infrastructure failed, ensuring communities remained connected when it mattered most.
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