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Video calls from the top of the world

Video calls from the top of the world

By Nick Bilton, New York Times | Updated: 5 June 2012 02:22 IST

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Highlights

In 1924 George Mallory was asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak. Mr. Mallory, a quick-witted and seasoned English mountaineer, responded: “Because it’s there.” If Mr. Mallory were alive today he might also note that

In 1924 George Mallory was asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, the world's highest peak. Mr. Mallory, a quick-witted and seasoned English mountaineer, responded: "Because it's there."

If Mr. Mallory were alive today he might also note that the top of Mount Everest would be a nice place to make a video call on a cellphone.

On Thursday, Ncell, a new private telecommunications company based in Nepal, announced that it had installed 3G cellphone antennas at Mount Everest's base camp, which will let climbers make phone and video calls and surf the Web, all the way to the summit.

In the past, climbers who hoped to communicate with the world below relied on expensive and heavy satellite phones.

According to Agence France Presse, Pasi Koistinen, Ncell's chief executive, told reporters that he had "made the (world's) highest video call from Mount Everest base camp successfully." He assured reporters that the new cell towers his company had installed on the mountain would cover the 29,035-foot summit.

The company has installed a total of eight base stations near the mountain, four of which will run on solar power.

Now the only question left: who will be the first person to "check in" on Foursquare or Facebook at the top of Mount Everest?

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