Mount Everest is now the earth’s highest hotspot after a Swedish telecommunications company announced the launch of 3G service in Nepal. A spokesman for the TeliaSonera subsidiary Ncell made the announcement Friday. He said a video call from the highest altitude ever was made at the Mt. Everest base camp. The introduction of a 3G network in Nepal gives climbers the freedom to connect across the world from the Everest summit and introduces one of one of the most remote areas of the world to the rest of civilization. Source of article – 3G service on Mt. Everest allows climbers to surf from the summit by Newsytype.com.
Via the whole world, it is the world’ highest 3G base station
Before 3G at Mount Everest, climbers had to use satellite phones to communicate with the outside. Ncell is setting up a ton of base stations. In fact, eight 3G stations could be set up. Near the Mount Everest base camp which is at 17,000 feet is the village of Gorakshep. That is where the highest had been built. For climbing adventurers, real time weather reports and emergency communications will be the most practical use of Everest 3G. But Ncell emphasized that for the very first time locals can be able to surf the Web, send e-mail, and make calls at rates cheaper than satellite phones.
The Everest communications made
3,000 people have made the trip to Mt. Everest and climbed it. This has all been since 1953 when Sir Edmund Hilary first climbed the mountain. The nearest telegraph office would get the messages from climbers back then. That’s because runners had to be used to send messages. Veikka Gustafsson, a climber living in Nepal for years, told TeliaSonera that when he first came to the Himalayas, satellite phone equipment weighed more than 220 pounds. The China-facing slope of Mount Everest has had partial service provided by China Mobile since 2007, but coverage had been voice only.
3G affects Nepal
Less than one-third of Nepal’s population can access telecommunication services. The jagged mountain makes it really difficult to build cellular towers. Also, building land-based networks is nearly impossible. Gusaffson said, in reference to the 3G network:
“It’s hard for people in the Western world to even imagine what it means for people living in distant villages in valleys separated by high mountains when they now make their first phone call to relatives or are able to contact a doctor over the phone.”
Ncell has about 3.7 million subscribers in Nepal, a number that will rise now with 3G service. By the end of 2011, TeliaSonera plans on having 90 % of the populace in Nepal covered by investing $100 million.
Discover more details on this subject
BBC News
bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11651509
Daily Tech
dailytech.com/Worlds Highest AboveWater Peak Everest Gets Internet Access/article20026.htm
PC Magazine
pcmag.com/article2/,2817,2371750,00.asp
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