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The town where WiFi, TV, radio, and cellphones are banned

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kyrathaba:

The town of Bomont outlawed dancing in the movie Footloose, but the kids in Green Bank, West Virginia live with much worse: no electronics.

That's because the small town of 149 people lies in the middle of the 13,000-square mile National Radio Quiet Zone.

Scientists use this space to project satellites into space for research, and they can't have waves from personal electronic devices interrupting their signals. That means no radio,  TV, WiFi, cellphones or bluetooth.


--- End quote ---

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2389384/Green-Bank-West-Virginia-bans-cellphones-TV-radio-WiFi.html#ixzz2bm1IHjBS

Curt:
in ... West Virginia ... : no electronics. ... Radio Quiet Zone. ... That means no radio,  TV, WiFi, cellphones or bluetooth.
-kyrathaba (August 12, 2013, 11:36 AM)
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something is not accurate:

I hear her voice, in the morning hour she calls me
The radio reminds me of my home far away
And drivin' down the road I get the feeling
That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, Mountain Mama
Take me home, country roads
--- End quote ---
;)

They could of course "just" have fixed land-line connections.

Curt:
Wikipedia states they have TV and several FM radio stations - sending with low power only: "Most broadcast transmitters in the Quiet Zone are forced to operate at reduced power and use highly directional antennas. This makes cable and satellite all but essential for acceptable television in much of the region."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Radio_Quiet_Zone

Besides, maybe these children are more being protected...

app103:
I know someone that lives in the zone, within walking distance of the observatory. FM radio reception is pretty bad for the stations you can get, which is why you either end up listening to AM most of the time (which he says sucks) or develop a love for internet radio, where you can stream FM stations from all over the world. And yes, cable TV is pretty much essential. But it's a bit more extreme than most people would think, since there are even restrictions where he is on stuff like cordless landline phones, wireless routers, and certain types of toys, unless your home is properly shielded to keep the signals inside it.

But those that live there are used to it all and that's where they choose to live. The alternative would be to ban both homes and businesses within the zone, kicking people out and taking over their properties with eminent domain laws. I think the compromise they decided on is much better for all parties involved.

And research might just offer them more options in the future:

http://www.ece.vt.edu/news/ar10/propagation.php

And there is some cell phone service and wireless internet access, at least in some parts of a ski resort located within the zone.

http://www.snowshoemtn.com/the-mountain/faq/faq-detail/is-there-cell-phone-coverage-and-internet-access.aspx

app103:
Here is an old 3 page Wired article about the Zone and the guy that polices it, that will show you just how severe the restrictions are in some areas, and how closely people have to work in cooperation with each other to preserve the silence:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.02/quiet.html

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