4G coverage on Mount Everest

Mount Everest now has 4G coverage at 5,200 metres above sea level, thanks to Huawei and China Mobile. 

 

Climbers will now be able to live stream the view from Mount Everest after the technology companies deployed LTE TDD, a 4G wireless technology, at a base station from which mountaineers climb to the summit.

Last month, China Mobile demonstrated the service by live HD video streaming from the 5,200 metre high 4G site.

President of Huawei Wireless Networks, David Wang, said: “Bringing 4G to Mount Everest marks an important milestone in global LTE TDD development. We are very excited to make this possible, and look forward to working with more operators worldwide to bring high-speed mobile broadband services anytime and anywhere.”

Huawei and China Mobile have worked on Mount Everest mobile coverage before and the two companies were part of a project to create GSM coverage (Global System for Mobile communications) on the mountain to prepare for a leg of the 2008 Olympic Games torch relay.

The GSM stations at the Mount Everest base camp have continued to operate since then and the mobile coverage, together with the new 4G, is intended to protect mountain climber safety.