Yes, I Can Hear You Now – Even on Mt. Everest
© Syeefa Jay
This week we celebrate Earth Day, and there is no better way to celebrate our planets most natural and pristine environments than by installing cell phone towers on them. That's right ladies and gentlemen, soon there will be no inch on this blue marble that isn't accessible to you and your iPhone with the farting application. Heck, even your Sherpa friends can give you a jingle; thanks to Nepal Telecom, Mt. Everest will soon be covered in cell towers.
Set to begin by mid-June of this year, Nepal Telecom will install CDMA and GSM towers on top of the Earth's highest peak so that you can call to let your roommate know you left the coffee pot on while you are thousands of feet above sea level. The cell network is designed to handle about 3000 simultaneous call, which should be plenty to handle even the busiest of Mt. Everest rush hours.
All joking aside, there is a real payoff for this as well, and that is safety. If someone is injured or lost, a cell phone can go along ways in savingsome one's life. I can see why they are doing it, but a huge part of me wishes Nepal Telecom would just leave the big hunk of rock they way it is.
