Canada’s National Parks Are Getting Wi-Fi

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I thought people took vacations to the Great White North to get away from it all. :confused: Thanks to John Patz for the link.

Canada has decided to install Wi-Fi at up to 20 thrillingly remote locations in some of its stunning national parks. Because what good is enjoying the solitude of the great outdoors when you can’t upload some photos to Facebook?
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Awful idea. The same thing was being tossed around by the U.S. NPS, but I'm not sure what came of it. I visit the wilderness to get away from technology (and those who are obnoxious while using it).
 
As much as I enjoy being connected I thought the point of a wilderness vacation was to get away from the electronic noise ... besides, they probably have wifi or internet in your hotel ... talk about first world problems :D
 
Why....why?! As someone who loves both wifi and backpacking to get away from it all... stupid, terrible and awful. Take pictures and upload them to Facebook once you're done.
 
Not that I disagree, but it's a bit weird that a tech forum is in support of not having tech.
 
Actually from a S & R aspect of it, this would be a nice boon. From a big brother standpoint I'm sure officers would love this.
 
Can't we just get complete LTE coverage for the entirety of the parks and call it a day?
 
Parks Canada runs 44 reserves and 160 historic sites — including the stunning Banff, Jasper and Mount Revelstoke National Parks — but cell-phone coverage is spotty at best in many of them.
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Good, keep it that way! :mad:
 
How does having wifi available restrict you? If you don't want electronics with you on your national park trip, then don't bring them or put them in a zip lock bag for emergency use turned off.

I also don't see why you can't have a fun hike and what not with internet connectivity, as that could help enable a group to stay in contact, share experiences real time with folks at home, and access an infinite database of information if you say wanted to look up what species of moth or plant you just found is, or you're star gazing and want to look up the constellations, or use google earth and a GPS to find good spots for you to hike and to help you from getting lost.

It can also be very useful for professionals or even just hobbyists that are out in the parks conducting research, instead of setting up cameras and collecting them for review later perhaps they could be IP cameras and tagged animals could be tracked real time.

I can think of a lot of good reasons to have wifi, but I'm more curious from a technical standpoint how they plan to get wifi available over such a wide area.
 
They already have this at some parks. Bay of Fundy, Cape Breton already have it. It's very useful to be honest. We were on a long 4 week trip and we ran out of Data on both phones and with not much to do on rainy nights it helped us download some movies/shows to watch. It was fantastically slow though.
 
Ducman69 said:
How does having wifi available restrict you? If you don't want electronics with you on your national park trip, then don't bring them or put them in a zip lock bag for emergency use turned off.
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Since it doesn't sound like philosophical arguments about escaping from the tropes of modern society will convince you... here is another concern. Installing this wifi network means more equipment that requires an initial investment and subsequent upkeep. I don't want my national park access fees to increase to pay for Joe Schmoe's ability to take a selfie of himself squatting on a rock.

At least in the U.S., I feel like our national wilderness areas are already overdeveloped. Let the backcountry be enjoyed by those who are willing to spend the time to be knowledgeable about their surroundings and capable to take care of themselves in a variety of situations. Obviously national historical parks are a different story. Put as much modern convenience as you want in those places.

Just IMO... but it makes me sad every time we as a society further take the wild out of the wilderness.
 
I also worry about increases in vandalism. A lot of people become morons when given access to a camera and the internet. Those scout leaders who knocked over the rock formation last year come to mind.
 
drako said:
Just IMO... but it makes me sad every time we as a society further take the wild out of the wilderness.
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Nobody wants the wild, they want the illusion of wild with safety intact, just like a rollercoaster ride. A fun camping trip with the family isn't so fun when your family is scrambling up a rockface to escape a pack of wolves that are eating your seven year old son who couldn't keep up. I'm sure they could make the wifi virtually invisible to a passerby to preserve the illusion, and people can enjoy nature safely and glamp if they want to glamp or rough it and bring only a hunting knife and loin cloth.
 
Serpent said:
Not that I disagree, but it's a bit weird that a tech forum is in support of not having tech.
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As much as I love tech gadgets and the internet, I personally believe that it's good to be "disconnected" when we're on a vacation, even when it comes to our job. It ruins our vacation if we're expected to answer calls or emails from office. Going somewhere where there's no any internet access would encourage people to actually enjoy where they are at that moment and forget about work and home.
 
What is the point of wifi now days in a venue like this? Everyone has a cell phone, you put up cell towers to handle the capacity. Wifi is a solved problem in outdoor and large public places.
 
Ducman69 said:
I also don't see why you can't have a fun hike and what not with internet connectivity, as that could help enable a group to stay in contact, share experiences real time with folks at home
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Just what the world needs. More insta "I took a shit and now eating a burrito" crap. I would like to ask someone "Hey, how was your trip?" if I care about it, I don't need real time updates. And call me crazy, but when it is I who is on the trip, I like to fully enjoy and absorb myself in the experience, not break it with useless online drivel.

and access an infinite database of information if you say wanted to look up what species of moth or plant you just found is, or you're star gazing and want to look up the constellations, or use google earth and a GPS to find good spots for you to hike and to help you from getting lost.
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Bring a book, even an electronic one if you have to. Or take a picture/note and look it up when you come back. Bring a map. Provide cell coverage for emergency calls.
 
rudy said:
What is the point of wifi now days in a venue like this? Everyone has a cell phone, you put up cell towers to handle the capacity. Wifi is a solved problem in outdoor and large public places.
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You'd have to use up data. With wifi it's unlimited.

Though personally I don't see why put wifi in what is suppose to be a place to be disconnected.
 
Meeho said:
Just what the world needs. More insta "I took a shit and now eating a burrito" crap. I would like to ask someone "Hey, how was your trip?" if I care about it, I don't need real time updates. And call me crazy, but when it is I who is on the trip, I like to fully enjoy and absorb myself in the experience, not break it with useless online drivel.



Bring a book, even an electronic one if you have to. Or take a picture/note and look it up when you come back. Bring a map. Provide cell coverage for emergency calls.
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You do realize that in the days before cell phones many, perhaps most hikers had radios / walkie talkies of some sort right? Maps, And there was also GPS too. All the cell phone did is consolidate those devices.
 
Red Squirrel said:
You'd have to use up data. With wifi it's unlimited.

Though personally I don't see why put wifi in what is suppose to be a place to be disconnected.
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So what you have a data plan to use it. And if the park cares so much they could probably easily strike up a deal with the cell phone providers giving them a data waiver of something when connected to towers in the park.

My point is that wifi has a very limited range so networking a park of any sort of size is just a giant costly endeavor. A single cell phone tower in a high location could probably cover an entire park. When it comes time to upgrade its also simpler.

And the other thing to consider is that maybe these parks have noticed slipping interest from the public and they may feel that the whole obsession some people have with not being connected just is not lining up with the actions of the masses. Look if you want to disconnect when you go to a park, guess what no one is stopping you. No one is holding a gun to your head telling you to check your email. But if the park can increase attendance by allowing people to come to it without being shut off from the rest of the world then maybe that is what they need to do. In addition there may be added benefits to networking more of the park and many of those may just be internal issues. Faster monitoring, maybe they figured out they can get rid of their ham radios and stop using them.
 
rudy said:
So what you have a data plan to use it. And if the park cares so much they could probably easily strike up a deal with the cell phone providers giving them a data waiver of something when connected to towers in the park.

My point is that wifi has a very limited range so networking a park of any sort of size is just a giant costly endeavor. A single cell phone tower in a high location could probably cover an entire park. When it comes time to upgrade its also simpler.

And the other thing to consider is that maybe these parks have noticed slipping interest from the public and they may feel that the whole obsession some people have with not being connected just is not lining up with the actions of the masses. Look if you want to disconnect when you go to a park, guess what no one is stopping you. No one is holding a gun to your head telling you to check your email. But if the park can increase attendance by allowing people to come to it without being shut off from the rest of the world then maybe that is what they need to do. In addition there may be added benefits to networking more of the park and many of those may just be internal issues. Faster monitoring, maybe they figured out they can get rid of their ham radios and stop using them.
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True but data is still a very expensive thing to use compared to wifi so it makes more sense for the users to have a bunch of high output APs. TBH it surprises me how much people are actually willing to spend on cell phone bills. I don't even have data on my cell, with the caps, I just don't see the point. My phone bill is like 25 bucks vs like 60 if I had data. I'll stick to using my unlimited 50/30 wifi at home.
 
Someone has to pay for the wifi, many hotels I go to that do not have free all included wifi charge between 5 and 15 bucks for it. The others hide it in the price. And very few of them even have as good of speeds as my cell phone which is on the worst network, sprint. Using your ISP at home is a completely different case. I have yet to stay at any hotel or any public place that delivered free internet connections as good as what I get at home. Public wifi is one of the most over hyped under delivered products I have ever seen.

But anyhow now that I know you don't have data I see where your bias comes from. Sure the one advantage to wifi is that the kids with mp3 players can use it too.
 
great idea, people might want to update their navigators maps before taking a hike
 
rudy said:
You do realize that in the days before cell phones many, perhaps most hikers had radios / walkie talkies of some sort right? Maps, And there was also GPS too. All the cell phone did is consolidate those devices.
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Ok (not that many have, especially GPS before cell phones), but I'm not sure how that is related to my post and what I was replying to.
 
Red Squirrel said:
True but data is still a very expensive thing to use compared to wifi so it makes more sense for the users to have a bunch of high output APs.
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There is the question of cost, but how much do you think the tax payers would really be on the hook for, if anything? Are those high power transmitters pretty pricey?

Getting people excited about visiting national parks is what generates revenue streams though and makes people CARE about preserving the outdoors.

That's why believe it or not the most influential conservationists are usually avid hunters. Unlike city slickers who never leave their block, they are always out there and so care about preserving the beauty of nature and keeping it free from polution too since that's their food. In fact, the idea for national parks before a conservation movement was even a thing was Roosevelt, who recognized that you only get big game in big pristine areas. Back then, the whole idea was foreign, and they just wanted to strip it all for some quick lumber, slow growth big trees that would take centuries to grow back.

So if available wifi isn't too pricey and encourages more people to come out, I say lets do it!
 
Meeho said:
Just what the world needs. More insta "I took a shit and now eating a burrito" crap.
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Is your timeline reversed, or do you usually prepare your body for the burritos by preemptively taking a shit? :D
 
Bladestorm said:


Good, keep it that way! :mad:
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What would happen if somebody broke their leg hiking, or maybe something much worse? What would they do, if their cell phone didn't work? Having WiFi may be a good thing, as I believe there are services to call 911 over WiFi.
 
PCunicorn said:
What would happen if somebody broke their leg hiking, or maybe something much worse? What would they do, if their cell phone didn't work? Having WiFi may be a good thing, as I believe there are services to call 911 over WiFi.
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That's why you generally either hike with others or at least tell someone where you are going. Having said that, the SAR aspect is the one legit justification I can see for this plan.
 
Ducman69 said:
So if available wifi isn't too pricey and encourages more people to come out, I say lets do it!
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I'm all for more participation in our parks systems, as long as the new folks are respectful of the environment they enter. The U.S. system is underfunded and can barely handle the traffic it currently gets.
 
Hornet said:
As much as I love tech gadgets and the internet, I personally believe that it's good to be "disconnected" when we're on a vacation, even when it comes to our job. It ruins our vacation if we're expected to answer calls or emails from office. Going somewhere where there's no any internet access would encourage people to actually enjoy where they are at that moment and forget about work and home.
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no one is forcing you to use it
 
I have never had a better atmosphere, while watching a movie, then when I was in a tent in Frontenac park watching cloverfield. Hearing the wildlife around my tent made the movie that much creepier.
 
Someone should also hide a bunch of jammers in the woods as well..
Just to make things interesting.
 
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