It's always been your dream to climb Mount Everest, but growing up in the generation you did, you can't imagine being without internet access for as long as it would take to get to the top. Heck, even the cell phone reception up there is patchy, you say. It's a sad way to be, but we won't judge. After all, we're here to bring you good news: You can now climb Mount Everest and update your Twitter at the same time.
Yahoo! News reports that Ncell, a subsidiary of Swedish phone giant TeliaSonera, has set up a high-speed 3G phone base station at an altitude of 5,200 metres (17,000 feet) near Gorakshep village in the Everest region. Ncell Chief Pasi Koistinen said that coverage would reach up to the peak of the Everest, adding that they'd already tested it out for themselves.
"Today we made the (world's) highest video call from Mount Everest base camp successfully," Koistinen said yesterday.
Previously, people had to rely on an "erratic" and costly satellite connection that sometimes wouldn't work for days.
"This is a great milestone for mobile communications as the 3G high speed internet will bring faster, more affordable telecommunication services from the world's tallest mountain," declared Lars Nyberg, CEO of TeliaSonera.
Though only 3,000 people have climbed Everest since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay did it in '53, thousands of tourists flock to the Everest region each year.
Source: Yahoo! News
