--- /dev/null
+ ICELANDERS SEEK TO KEEP REMOTE NORDIC PENINSULA DIGITAL-FREE \r
+ (APNEWS.COM) \r
+\r
+ Thursday September 06, 2018 @11:30PM (BeauHD)\r
+ from the no-cellphones-allowed dept.\r
+\r
+ o News link: https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/18/09/06/235254/icelanders-seek-to-keep-remote-nordic-peninsula-digital-free\r
+ o Source link: https://www.apnews.com/71cdfb7b1c2245069a6f681f8b8f906f/Wired-Icelanders-seek-to-keep-remote-peninsula-digital-free\r
+\r
+\r
+ Hikers, park rangers, and summer residents of Iceland's\r
+ northernmost peninsula are seeking to keep the area free from\r
+ internet service, worrying that all that comes with it "will\r
+ destroy a way of life that depends on the absence of [email,\r
+ news, and social media]," reports the Associated Press. "The\r
+ area has long resisted cell towers, but commercial initiatives\r
+ could take the decision out of Icelanders' hands and push\r
+ Hornstrandir across the digital divide." From the report:\r
+ Despite or because of its remoteness, Iceland ranks first on a\r
+ U.N. index comparing nations by information technology use,\r
+ with roughly 98 percent of the population using the internet.\r
+ Among adults, 93 percent report having Facebook accounts and\r
+ two-thirds are Snapchat users, according to pollster MMR. Many\r
+ people who live in northwestern Iceland or visit as outdoor\r
+ enthusiasts want Hornstrandir's 570 square kilometers (220\r
+ square miles), which accounts for 0.6 percent of Iceland's\r
+ land mass, to be declared a "digital-free zone." The idea\r
+ hasn't coalesced into a petition or formal campaign, so what\r
+ it would require or prohibit hasn't been fleshed out. The last\r
+ full-time resident of the rugged area moved away in 1952 -- it\r
+ never was an easy place to farm -- but many descendants have\r
+ turned family farmsteads into summer getaways. Northwest\r
+ Iceland's representative, Halla Signy Kristjansdottir, is in\r
+ favor of adding cell towers for the safety of sailors and\r
+ travelers in the area. "I don't see anything romantic about\r
+ lying on the ground with a broken thigh bone and no cellphone\r
+ signal," Kristjansdottir said in an interview.\r
+\r
+\r
+ ** Yeah it's real annoying (Score:3, Insightful)\r
+ (by Crashmarik ( 635988 ))\r
+\r
+ \r
+ You're out in the wilderness and somebody's WiFi is screwing up\r
+ the colors of the forest and making everything look strange,\r
+ while the cell towers are driving the wildlife nuts. / sarcasm\r
+ I'd love to hear these people justify how this in anyway\r
+ diminishes them.\r
+\r
+ ** Because people no longer have self discipline? (Score:3)\r
+ (by thesupraman ( 179040 ))\r
+\r
+ \r
+ Because they CAN get Farcebook, I guess they Must get\r
+ Farcebook.\r
+ I mean, you would think they could just choose to turn off\r
+ their devices, not bring a charger, whatever.\r
+ Although knowing people from such areas, I suspect it is more\r
+ about giving one big finger to 'thems city folks' (even if\r
+ most of these people live in the cit\y most of the time).\r
+ Anyway, good on them for caring, but good luck in keeping\r
+ such things out. The safety point is also quite valid.\r
+\r
+ ** Re: (Score:3, Interesting)\r
+ (by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 ))\r
+\r
+ \r
+ > I mean, you would think they could just choose to turn off\r
+ > their devices\r
+ They don't want to just stop using Facebook, they want\r
+ their NEIGHBORS to stop using it too.\r
+ This isn't about self-control. It is about controlling\r
+ others, which is a near universal human desire.\r
+\r
+\r
+ ** Re: (Score:3)\r
+ (by e3m4n ( 947977 ))\r
+\r
+ \r
+ exactly. I just posted a more descriptive explanation of\r
+ that very thing a thread above this one. Sometimes it's\r
+ easier to buy a vacation that makes the choice for you,\r
+ than having to, repeatedly, make the same choice\r
+ throughout the entire vacation. Picking a destination that\r
+ has no access means you can re-focus on other forms of\r
+ entertainment. Its easy to fall back into habits. By\r
+ picking a spot with no access, you are not fighting\r
+ temptation, and i dare say withdrawal, the entire time.\r
+ The price of vacati\r
+\r
+\r
+\r
+ ** Re:Yeah it's real annoying (Score:5, Informative)\r
+ (by Rei ( 128717 ))\r
+\r
+ \r
+ Forest? *snicker*. Here's the joke everyone over the age of 8\r
+ here knows:\r
+ Q: What do you do if you get lost in an Icelandic forest?\r
+ A: Stand up.\r
+ I've actually not been to Hornstrandir; it's been on my TODO\r
+ list for a long, long time, but I've lacked one of the\r
+ obligatory "round tuits". So it's actually surprising to hear\r
+ that there's not internet access (via cell towers) there,\r
+ because in general even the most remote places here have cell\r
+ access. When Bárðarbunga erupted, deep in the highlands, the\r
+ eruption was livestreamed. And there's a lot more people in\r
+ Vestfirðir then in the highlands!\r
+ This would of course be more about visitors than residents,\r
+ given that there's no permanent residents in Hornstrandir.\r
+ And in some ways I can sympathize. For example, there's\r
+ always a lot of opposition to improving the highland roads\r
+ because we don't want to have more cars driving through and\r
+ tons of people flooding in, and driving really fast on some\r
+ paved road would totally change the experience of going into\r
+ the highlands... it would just turn into a set of "sites to\r
+ see" rather than a journey. The effect of the isolation on\r
+ you can really be profound. You feel like a person exploring\r
+ Mars - so tiny in an endless empty expanse, completely devoid\r
+ of any signs of human civilization except the\r
+ half-bulldozed-out "road" you take, the endless travel\r
+ punctured by rushes of adrenaline as you try to ford a river\r
+ or trying to avoid ruining your car crossing a lava field.\r
+ And people who know that experience generally don't want to\r
+ see it altered. So I imagine it's the same thing for\r
+ Hornstrandir. The difference being, as previously mentioned,\r
+ in much of the highlands there's cell coverage. At least as\r
+ far as I know, when I go out I'm not checking Facebook all\r
+ the time. ;) But I don't recall any meaningful loss of\r
+ coverage events.\r
+ ED: Just checked [1]a map [wp.com] from my cell provider.\r
+ Looks like most of Hornstrandir is indeed marked in white (no\r
+ coverage), while most of the highlands is light blue (2G) or\r
+ in some places blue (3G) - even a good chunk of Vatnajökull\r
+ (largest glacier in Europe).\r
+ \r
+ \r
+ \r
+ \r
+ [1]\r
+ https://i2.wp.com/www.icelandnorthernlightshq.com/wp-content/-\r
+ uploads/2015/06/Screen-Shot-2015-06-27-at-09.57.16.png?ssl=1\r
+\r
+\r
+ ** Re: (Score:3)\r
+ (by e3m4n ( 947977 ))\r
+\r
+ \r
+ Actually this intrigues me. I go on cruises for the same\r
+ getaway. Sure one can declare a weekend of no devices or\r
+ technology, but theres always something that comes up that\r
+ eventually screws that up. I go on cruises with the family\r
+ and we do not buy the internet package. The fact that its\r
+ ridiculously expensive helps 'cut the cord' when on vacation.\r
+ The most online time the kids ever experience is when we pull\r
+ into a port and visit a place that has 'free wifi'; giving\r
+ them 30-60 min of checking their email\r
+\r
+\r
+ ** Re: (Score:3)\r
+ (by GumphMaster ( 772693 ))\r
+\r
+ \r
+ > You're out in the wilderness and somebody's ...\r
+ bloody mobile phone is playing something loosely called\r
+ "music" over the shittiest, tinny piezoelectric "speaker" you\r
+ ever heard. I have personally experienced this scenario while\r
+ walking the Milford Track (NZ) and in Torres del Payne\r
+ (Chile). I can only imagine how much worse it would be _with_\r
+ coverage: Youtube videos turned up to 11, incessant need to\r
+ share the latest "news" from home, inattentive walking in\r
+ dangerous places etc. If your region's livelihood depends on\r
+ people coming to experience wil\r
+\r
+\r
+ ** Satellite Internet (Score:2)\r
+ (by crow ( 16139 ))\r
+\r
+ \r
+ We may only be a few years away from Starlink or something\r
+ similar providing practical high-bandwidth Internet service\r
+ globally. So they may hold back the tide a bit longer, but the\r
+ reality is that modern communications will become a fact of life\r
+ everywhere for anyone that wants it. Yes, that will mean some\r
+ significant changes to the lifestyles of the people living\r
+ there, and yes, it won't all be for the better, but I don't see\r
+ the point of fighting it now.\r
+\r
+ ** Re: (Score:2)\r
+ (by rossdee ( 243626 ))\r
+\r
+ \r
+ How far north are we talking about? Satellite coverage is\r
+ always going to be a problem at the poles\r
+\r
+ ** Re:Satellite Internet (Score:4, Informative)\r
+ (by quenda ( 644621 ))\r
+\r
+ \r
+ > Satellite coverage is always going to be a problem at the\r
+ > poles\r
+ No, that applies to geosynchronous broadcast satellites,\r
+ but not to LEO constellations such as Starlink or\r
+ Irridium.\r
+\r
+\r
+ ** Re: (Score:3)\r
+ (by crow ( 16139 ))\r
+\r
+ \r
+ Good point. A quick look at Google Maps suggests around 66\r
+ degrees north. I'm not the best a geography, and I had\r
+ thought Iceland was a bit further south. I didn't realize\r
+ it was north of the southern tip of Greenland. That could\r
+ well be outside the range of satellite Internet, depending\r
+ on the orbits involved. I have no idea what the plans are.\r
+\r
+ ** Re: (Score:3)\r
+ (by Mashiki ( 184564 ))\r
+\r
+ \r
+ Seem to remember there was active satellite links in\r
+ Resolute, Nvt.(74deg/N), so I don't think that's a\r
+ problem. The real problem was the astronomical cost of\r
+ those links, short of a stationary polar orbit\r
+ satellite there is no real way to keep it cheap. So\r
+ they've been building fiber as a replacement since\r
+ 2012ish for the far north remote communities at least\r
+ here in Canada. I think Resolute was finished in\r
+ 2016ish or so.\r
+\r
+\r
+\r
+\r
+ ** Fuck yes. (Score:3)\r
+ (by DogDude ( 805747 ))\r
+\r
+ \r
+ Fuck yes, I fucking love Icelanders. I'm so sick of seeing\r
+ smartphone zombies everywhere. The addicts and the stupid will\r
+ be addicted and stupid anywhere there's an Internet connection.\r
+ What a wonderful, thoughtful, human decision to make. Wonderful\r
+ idea.\r
+\r
+ ** Re: (Score:2)\r
+ (by Gojira Shipi-Taro ( 465802 ))\r
+\r
+ \r
+ I don't see it as thoughtful or "human" at all. Simply\r
+ reactionary.\r
+ As long as EVERYONE in that area agrees, fine.\r
+\r
+\r
+ ** safety, use a friggin' PLB (Score:1)\r
+ (by Anonymous Coward)\r
+\r
+ \r
+ I spend a lot of time in the woods of British Columbia, Canada.\r
+ There is no celphone coverage in probably 95% of our\r
+ woods/wilderness. I don't ask for cel towers, I carry a Personal\r
+ Locator Beacon (PLB) for safety. If it is that important to\r
+ someone to be connected, let them use satellite. We don't need\r
+ more cel coverage for narcisists.\r
+\r
+\r
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