By Stephen Smoot
Since its inception, the National Radio Quiet Zone has kept the door shut on electronic and digital interference. Though its legal reach extends through almost two fifths of West Virginia and large sections of Virginia, its area of enforcement remains limited to parts of a handful of counties in the two states.
The zone protects the Green Bank National Observatory, a facility that serves as part of a network that detects and analyzes faint signals from deep space and billions of years ago. It also encompasses a National Security Agency post.
Last fall, after lengthy negotiations with state and local officials, a breakthrough came. As of Oct. 25 of last year, a coordination agreement opened 99.5 percent of residents to the use of Starlink satellite internet service.
“This collaboration will allow residents to access high quality, high speed internet, and also expand opportunities for improved communication, like those needed by emergency services and first responders,” said Jim Jackson, the National Science Foundation Green Bank Observatory director, in a release last fall.
Now that access has expanded for two schools serving students in the heart of the NRQZ, as well as the less known West Virginia Radio Astronomy Zone that has enhanced protections for just the telescope.
According to a release from Green Bank Observatory, the issue had lay with electronic emissions from Wi-Fi routers close to the telescope complex that operate at 2.4 GHz. “When these quiet zones were created in the late 1950s, by the Federal Communications Commission and the state of West Virginia, officials could not have predicted the technology using radio wavelengths that are almost an essential part of our daily lives,” stated Anthony Remijan, director of the NSF GBO in a recent news release. “Today, we’re trying to balance our scientific operations with the reality of a world with Wi-Fi.”
That statement was warmly received by the Pendleton County Office of Emergency Management. Rick Gillespie from the OEM has worked for years with the NRQZ to figure out how to protect the facilities while still allowing emergency services necessary communications capabilities in the modern age.
“We remain cautiously optimistic that we will see some improvements in the world of public safety communications as well,” noted Gillespie. He added that “we have turned the corner in our working relationships, and leaders with the National Science Foundation are working with us to find solutions.”
The release pointed out that officials agreed to relent at 2.4 GHz because a number of residences have illicitly used routers at this range for years. It was determined that since widespread use had been taking place, the NRQZ would permit the local schools use of routers at 2.4 GHz as well.
“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,” Remijan shared. “Now, the observatory is offering guidance that benefits everyone and helps us better manage the situation.”
Cutline: (Not sure about this photo…if not usable don’t use it)
The NRQZ will now allow schools in the Green Bank area to access Wi-Fi.
