"Free" Starlink service for hurricane survivors costs $349 up front

After the widespread connectivity issues in areas devastated by Hurricane Helene, Elon Musk announced that SpaceX would provide free Starlink access to affected areas. SpaceX is crediting thirty days of free access to people who already own Starlink hardware. That's great, but for anyone who doesn't already own a Starlink kit, it will cost $349 to access the free service.

The fine print on the Starlink site reads:

For those in areas affected by Hurricane Helene, Starlink is available and temporarily offering free service for the first month.

Please note: A Starlink kit is required to access this free service. If you do not already have a Starlink kit, you will need to purchase one from starlink.com/residential or an authorized retailer such as Best Buy or Home Depot.

There is also this:

There may be limitations on the ability to transfer these kits or continue free service outside of the disaster region. More details will be added here as necessary.

So, if you shell out the $349 for a free month, you may be stuck with it forever. I'm not suggesting that Musk give everyone free hardware, although he could certainly afford to do so. It's just disingenuous to call it free.

Previously: Elon Musk secretly ordered Starlink engineers to disrupt Ukraine counter-attack on Russian fleet