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America's Quietest Town: No mobiles and No WiFi
Green Bank, West Virginia is Wi-Fi free.
18:12 23 May 2017
The tiny town of Green Bank in West Virginia is the “quietest town in America.” With a population of just 145, the town is mobile and Wi-Fi free.
Green Bank has been welcoming researchers from all over the world including those from Chicago-area universities like Loyola and University of Chicago since 1956. The town, which is nestled in the hills of West Virginia, has the largest fully-steerable radio telescope in the world called Green Bank telescope or GBT. The astronomical technology, which locals refer to as the “great big thing”, is surrounded by mountains and green pastures and weighs 17 million pounds.
In order to operate GBT and six other smaller and older telescopes around it, state and national governments had to create “quiet zones” or radio free zones. Thus, there is no Wi-Fi allowed within 10 miles of the Green Bank Observatory. There are also no electric fences, stoves, telescopes, and mobile phones allowed in the area.
Locals find the Wi-Fi free zone “refreshing.” Green Bank is now attracting people from different parts of the world who say that Wi-Fi-free zone is saving their lives.