Cell phones in the national parks?

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After reading the article, I think there is a case to be made for both sides.

On the side of keeping things pristine, I am already tired of the people who involve everyone within earshot in their phone calls, be it at campgrounds, in eating establishments, in tour groups, etc. Given a choice, I would not like to hear a phone ring outside, anywhere.

On the side of safety, like in Yellowstone, there is obviously a case to be made. Technology does play a huge role in helping us access information that will expand our knowledge of an area, help us find our way, and add context to the things we are seeing.

I can understand why some would not want to be out of touch for any number of valid reasons, and I can also understand why some could care less.

Like the cell phones on planes question, I would love to use the data technology, but when they allow voice usage on a plane, it will be the last time I fly commercially.

It's complicated.  8)
 
when they allow voice usage on a plane, it will be the last time I fly commercially.

That's been available for many years, just not using cell phones.  I actually witnessed the first air-to-ground all digital telephone call many years ago in Torrance, CA, from a company called AirFone In-Flight Phone Corp.

It's complicated.

Technology is a two edged sword.
 
Ned said:
That's been available for many years, just not using cell phones.

Agreed, but it was so expensive, you did not have every seat occupant prattling. If they open up private cell phone use for voice on commercial flights, it's going to take more than a couple of air marshals to keep order in an aluminum tube traveling at 450 mph. They are not well behaved now.  :mad:
 
Add it to the list of issues in the parks. I love having access to all my field guides via my smart phone. But I sure don't want to be standing in some glorious park, sucking up nature, and have some bozo yacking on his phone or hear some stupid ringer.
 
One solution is to install WiFi throughout the park, but make it slow enough (802.11b?) so that VOIP isn't usable, but internet access is.  Or just block VOIP protocols.
 
Living and working in a National Park gives me a certain insight.  Here at Old Faithful we have a tower, otherwise I couldn't even post this.  (will not go back to a modem), We have folks that won't take the job if there is no signal.  More towers?  They can certainly be hidden, but folks using and being distracted?  Definitely a possibility.  I would like to have more coverage here.
 
Ned said:
Or just block VOIP protocols.

The technical solution is pretty easy. But getting the general public to accept a throttling of what they now believe is full access owed to them will prove problematic.

I am very sympathetic with Bill's plight and his point is well taken.

But I do like the data only solution as a compromise.
 
I'll stay out of the talking on the phone issue. I was recently in Hawaii at Volcano National Park and there were several cell towers in the park but they were hard to spot. All of them were decorated to look like pine trees. I thought that was a very nice touch. I would hate to see the views of our National Parks destroyed by cell towers everywhere.

Steve
 
Wendy said:
Add it to the list of issues in the parks. I love having access to all my field guides via my smart phone. But I sure don't want to be standing in some glorious park, sucking up nature, and have some bozo yacking on his phone or hear some stupid ringer.

I don't  know how yours works, but my iphone has several field guides in memory. No phone service is needed to access them.

As a compromise, it might be reasonable to have a single tower in or near each major campground and/or lodge, and none in the rest of the park.

Joel
 
Last year we spent a week or so at Yellowstone's Fishing Bridge campground.  Here we didn't have any cell service or WiFi.  We would get in the car with the laptop and 4G JetPack and drive a mile or so to the edge of the lake where we could send and receive our emails and make any phone calls.  Worked for us, just wouldn't want to do this all the time.
 
Bago said:
Last year we spent a week or so at Yellowstone's Fishing Bridge campground.  Here we didn't have any cell service or WiFi.  We would get in the car with the laptop and 4G JetPack and drive a mile or so to the edge of the lake where we could send and receive our emails and make any phone calls.  Worked for us, just wouldn't want to do this all the time.

Same thing we did, would have been nice tom have service lust in the campgrounds, like Bill stated, we did have service at Old Faithfull and while waiting for the performance it was a constant ring tone among the waiting crowd.
 
Tough call. I see a lot of value in better cellular communications in a NP, but have also encountered too many of those who act boorishly with their phones. I don't care if THEY miss the grandeur of the park while chatting, but the likelihood of interference with others enjoyment seems large.  Do we punish the rest of us because some people are boors? That seems to be the modern style of managing a problem - outlaw anything that may possibly be abused by a few.  In general I disagree with that approach, so guess I have to be consistent and do the same here.
 
When Mike was a ranger in Death Valley, we not only had no cell phone service, we had no phone service or TV or radio reception. We got along just fine. Rangers communicated via the park radio system. Visitors came to enjoy the park.

Wendy
 
I know, I know...I'm sure it's illegal, but sometimes I wish I had a cell jammer that would jam a radius of 20-30 feet...just enough to reach the "cell boor" within my earshot.  Of course, I'd have to be careful of someone on a legitmate emergency call, which is a good reason for it being illegal, I guess.
 
When i was in Fishing Bridge, I was to only one around with a satellite. I remember there was some big game going on. We made a lot of friends that day. Lots of people around our site watching the TV. Had a spontaneous tailgate party.
 
Molaker said:
I know, I know...I'm sure it's illegal, but sometimes I wish I had a cell jammer that would jam a radius of 20-30 feet...just enough to reach the "cell boor" within my earshot.  Of course, I'd have to be careful of someone on a legitmate emergency call, which is a good reason for it being illegal, I guess.


It is my understanding that there are no cell towers in national parks, so if you are on the edge of the property, you may hit a nearby tower, or a high enough hill, but in most of the park... Forget it..  About the only way to radio for help is to flag a ranger or a passing ham radio operator (Most of use can get out to someone somewhere but .. Well,  that's due to the law of diminishing returns.. You see when you need 4 hours labor to make a 20 dollar improvement in        performance, and labor is costing you nothing, you spend the 4 hours,, When labor is 100/hr, you don't).

To the quoted text:  Many places were installing those a few years back, Theaters, Restaurants and performance halls.. Alas, the following story applies.

A motorcycle instructor told his students "Unless you are something like a transplant doctor on 24 hour call who may get paged to rush to the hospital,, TURN OFF your pagers and cell phones during class"  Cause I don't want you reaching for your pager or phone while riding.

One student put his hand up.. Seems he WAS a transplant surgeon... (The teacher wore his pager)

This by the way is a true story with a good ending.

From what I understand a doctor did not get an emergency call due to one of those jammers and the black tank contents met with the impeller as they say.
 

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