Mount Everest Gets 3G Service

bossanovalithium writes "It's what every mountaineer wants when they reach the summit of Mount Everest: a 3G high-speed communication. Those who have trekked to the top will soon able to call their mates, go on Facebook or Twitter, and boast that they got there thanks to TeliaSonera and its subsidiary in Nepal, Ncell, which have brought 3G to the Mount Everest area. Climbers who reached Everest's 8,848-meter-high peak previously depended on expensive and erratic satellite phone coverage and a voice-only network set up by China Mobile in 2007 on the Chinese side of the mountain."

Not at all unusual

[AntEater]

Last year I led a group of college age students on a hike up a small local mountain (2700'). First thing that nearly every one of them did at the top was to whip out their cell phones and call someone to let them know where they were. I guess this falls under the "why not" category. Maybe it'll even help with rescue efforts for those who get lost or injured when on the mountain.

Re:Kind of a shame

[rossdee]

I am sure that the late Sir Edmund Hillery would prefer they gave better connectivity to the poor villages in the surrounding area.
(and Tenzing Norgay too)

Won't last a Season

[dogma2fun4u]

Between vandalism and weather the equipment won't last more then a season. On the north side (Chinese side) the only intact equipment is the main terminal at base camp and one additional repeater part way up the mountain (between BC and IBC). All the remaining equipment above IBC and ABC is non-functional, no use to any climbers. It's going to be the same on the Nepal side. http://7tops.com/media/max/1/5059.jpg [7tops.com] http://www.everestnews.com/everest2010/7summitseverest201005272010.htm [everestnews.com]