With hurricane season approaching Flow Cayman has partnered with Starlink to provide a satellite backup for its mobile network.
In a 3 June interview, Flow Cayman country manager Bruno Delhaise told the Compass that the rollout would be complete “during summer”. Once in place, the satellite technology would allow Flow customers to connect to the internet, even if terrestrial cables are cut.
“If a hurricane cuts off one of our towers from the core fibre-optic network, then the tower will switch to the Starlink back up and our users will still be connected via satellite,” said Delhaise. “It’s all about resilience,”
Delhaise noted that all of Flow’s telecoms towers have a backup power supply of a generator and/or battery, which means they will remain operational even if power lines are cut in a storm.
Flow Cayman is also rolling out a Wi-Fi backup solution that connects Wi-Fi routers to the mobile network via a dongle,” Delhaise said.
“It means that the mobile network is being used as a backup to our fixed network.”
He added, “Coming into hurricane season, it’s very relevant. The idea is both those solutions combined are bringing this additional resiliency, where your fixed connection is being backed up by your mobile connection and your mobile network is being backed up by Starlink.”
Starlink’s industry impact
The Starlink deal follows the Utility Regulation and Competition Office’s September 2025 decision to allow satellite-based telecoms providers to operate in the Cayman Islands. Then in December 2025 Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, which owns Starlink, announced the firm had been awarded a licence in Cayman.
“Without URCO’s decision, this wouldn’t be possible,” said Delhaise. “Without a regulatory framework, Starlink didn’t have the right to deploy its service in the Cayman Islands.”
The deal is also notable because it provides insight into how Cayman’s existing telecoms providers are adapting to the entrance of satellite competition.
“Starlink is an interesting story, because they are a competitor on the broadband piece of our business,” said Delhaise, “but we are using them as an ally to make the island more resilient”.
Delhaise spoke to the Compass ahead of the launch of a new Flow store at 60 Nexus Way in Camana Bay. The company’s offices, including its business services division, Liberty Business, will also be moving to the building later on this summer, Delhaise said.
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