Wi-Fi being allowed near Green Bank Observatory for first time ever

GREEN BANK, W.Va. (WBOY) — For the first time ever, residents are allowed to use certain wireless internet in the highly restrictive West Virginia Radio Quiet Zone near the Green Bank Observatory.

Since it was built in 1956, the observatory, which houses the largest fully steerable radio telescope in the world, has been located in both the National Radio Quiet Zone, which spans several counties in West Virginia and Virginia, and the West Virginia Radio Quiet Zone, which includes a 10-mile radius around the Green Bank Observatory.

According to a press release, Wi-Fi radio frequencies can disrupt the frequencies that the telescope reads. Although the use of Wi-Fi routers can disrupt the telescope, the observatory said the quiet zones have not stopped people from installing routers.

“Many people who were doing the right thing by not using Wi-Fi were left without access, while others who were illegally using routers did whatever they wanted,” Anthony Remijan, director of the NSF GBO, explained in the release.

Now, instead of limiting the use of all Wi-Fi routers, the Green Bank Observatory is encouraging everyone in the WVRQZ to operate at the same frequency—2.4GHz. This will allow residents, businesses and schools in the quiet zone to have Wi-Fi while also preventing multiple radio frequencies from being interfered with.

Read more – MSN: http://bit.ly/4ouYxRL