YNP bandwidth controversy

[agesilaus]

YNP Article

Thought this might interest some of you.

[Steeljag]

What, no Wal-Mart or Sports bars in the park?

[pnichols]

I know that this is hopefully just being paranoid ... but just wait (if you live long enough) until science finally proves and publishes that all that radio energy running around in the air does harm, and has harmed, all life forms except termities.

Of course it'll be too late for us dead ones by then. 😉

[dave54]

Ray,IN wrote:
The article offers insight ($34 million) into the reasoning for the sizable increase in NP entrance fees coming next year.

Just makes the geezer pass a better deal. 🙂

[dave54]

The same arguments and anguish as when the NPS first brought electricity to the National Parks.

[Ray_IN]

The article offers insight ($34 million) into the reasoning for the sizable increase in NP entrance fees coming next year.

[Vacay_Wheels]

To say that national parks should be constrained to the pre-wireless era is a bit like saying we should stick with the stagecoaches and gravel roads of yesteryear. Civilization and society moves forward, the parks should come along too.

Hopefully there is a commercially viable business case for improving wireless connectivity in the park. We spent a week in the park this summer, and the worst part of the trip by far was lack of connectivity. Worse than the pouring rain and six inches of water in the campgrounds.

Perhaps some travel to national parks for the isolation--although those campgrounds and roads and parking lots are pretty packed to the brim with people. I feel like folks who want isolation should be in the Frank Church Wilderness or somewhere else truly remote. Still, if someone wants to unplug in the NP's, great, go for it.

For the rest of us...The fun of being connected all the time is that it's like all your friends are on vacation with you at the same time. And you're on vacation with them all the time. Somewhat like the forums, only in real time. So having no connectivity meant not bringing along any friends 😞

[Shearwater]

pappcam wrote:
How about highways to transport your exhaust spewing RV? Does that ruin your enjoyment of the park as well?

Cell phone towers are not necessary. Highways are.

By the way, my "exhaust spewing RV" spews a whole lot less than yours.

[agesilaus]

Is this the view that you are worried about?

Grant Village

[pappcam]

Shearwater wrote:
A cell tower is about the last thing I would want to see in a National Park. I guess roller coasters, water slides, and McDonalds would be about as bad.

How about highways to transport your exhaust spewing RV? Does that ruin your enjoyment of the park as well?

[Shearwater]

A cell tower is about the last thing I would want to see in a National Park. I guess roller coasters, water slides, and McDonalds would be about as bad.

[time2roll]

He stressed that coverage still would be restricted to five developed areas inside the park.

I see no problem with putting the tower etc in the large tourist parking areas near the hotels.
No need to even disguise the thing IMO. Don't put the antenna in the trees.
Still plenty of areas will have no service.

[down_home]

I have to be accessable, at all times. When we were in Tx and Az the phone died. Couldn't send email but could get it. I got the email to contact immediately and used Sister In Laws phone to get back to them. Some places cannot get Verizon or AT&T but some small local company. Supposedly I can roam off anybody's towere and no extra charges. I'm not giving it up but some local operators don't like cooperating. The Tower should all be owned by FCC or someone and the Compnaies roam from them on either of the two services. That was the way it was intended and worked until Verizon bought all the competition and AT&T becale a global AT&T and nobody wanted to let anyone roam off their towers that was not a subscriber. FCC should serve the public interest and put a stop to this. It would take a tremendous bite out of the cost of cell phone useage, especially, for travelers. I haven't bu hay have to put an antanna and good booster on MH. ..or find and old 3 watt bag phone and activate it on someone's service.

[VegasBT]

Face it, we live in a wired society. The cost of running a fiber optic line into the park will more than be made up by the charges the wireless companies charge the tourists (especially those from overseas) per minute to call/text/upload selfies from in front of Old Faithful. The environmental impact is minimal, and if I want to visit Yellowstone and log on to my computer from Grant Village, who cares?

[sh410]

agesilaus wrote:
That's because the NPS wastes buckets of money on million dollar restrooms, conducting raids on Alaskan residents and assigning officers to give out dog tickets. Among a long list of other waste items like blocking off the Rushmore viewing area during the budget flap.

Hooboy :R