Free WiFi On Mount Everest Soon To Roll Out

You can now let the whole world know that you hiked Mount Everest when you've uploaded that photo of yours on Instagram upon stepping on the mountain's base camp because of its free internet connection. That's right. There'll be free WiFi on Mount Everest soon to roll out as planned by the Nepalese government.

Tourist can snap photos or take videos of themselves on the mountain and upload it later on free WiFi zones. They might even spot the elusive snow leopard somewhere along the hike.

This initiative, however, is seen not only to drive tourism but rather, to have access whenever an emergency will rise and have a smoother communication between victims and rescue teams. In a report written by The Hindustan Times, the country will have free WiFi zones at the base camp to "facilitate communications from the world's highest mountain and to aid rescue efforts in the event of any contingencies."

There are some accommodations and restaurants at the base camp that offers WiFi, but it costs $5 per hour. Telecoms have proposed to the government to extend mobile services, but at the moment, it still seems hard to have it realized.

Free WiFi will be available at Lukla-Everest Base Camp and Annapurna Base Camp, and if the initiative deems a success, it will expand to other areas of the mountain. In the same report, the chairman of state-run Nepal Telecommunications Authority, Digambar Jha said Nepal would have the Okumura Model that uses budget-friendly optical fiber cables to have high-speed internet services.

"We have already discussed the project with the International Telecommunication Union, and they are also positive about providing such facilities," Jha said. If the optical fibers won't work at high-altitude places, the government is thinking to use micro-waves to provide free WiFi on Mount Everest.

This could benefit travelers significantly, and medical teams alike as many hikers have fallen to fatal casualties. Last year, seven people died in Mount Everest due to cardiac arrest, fall, and snow blindness.