Do grey nomads want wi-fi everywhere they go?

Published: November 4, 2014

Does having an internet connection and phone connection in even the most remote spots improve or spoil the Big Lap experience?

It is a question that Australia’s grey nomads have been debating for many years, and it’s one that is now confronting one of America’s most famous destinations, the iconic Yellowstone National Park.

Preliminary discussions are under way to build a $34 million fibre-optic line in the park that spans Wyoming, Montana and Idaho … and it’s s ignited furious debate over whether anywhere should be off-limits to technology.

The Daily Mail newspaper reports that the installation of a wireless service would allow streaming deep within the historical national park, but that critics say it will compromise Yellowstone’s natural wilderness.

The Washington, D.C. advocacy group’s executive director, Jeff Ruch, told the Mail that bumping up the park’s bandwidth will create more electronic distractions at the expense of the park’s natural wonders, which include  grizzly bears, wolves, and hundreds of hot spring geysers.

He also  said it would be inappropriate for the park to put any money toward a fibre-optic line given its backlog of road maintenance and other basic infrastructure improvements.

There has been a huge push by some companies to have more digital access in national parks, including Arizona’s Grand Canyon, Texas’ Big Bend and Maine’s Acadia. The National Park Service has also launched a campaign to ‘Go Digital’ ahead of its 100th anniversary in 2016.

National Parks spokeswoman, Alexandra Picavet, said the service has no intention of looking backward as it enters a second century.

‘People are dependent on wireless, they’re dependent on cellular – a mode of communication and activeness that is different from what the National Park Service has provided previously,’ Ms Picavet said.

  • Do you think anywhere should be off-limits for  technology? Comment below.
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The question is not for me to answer. I wonder if we could get a comment from the last person unable to be found after being lost in a remote area with no signal coverage.

How were people found before mobile phones. I didn’t think they were around 25 – 30 years ago but people have been getting lost a lot longer than that.

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