Yellowstone park considers bumping up bandwidth starts debate

Can Old Faithful compete with Netflix? The prospect of streaming wireless service deep inside Yellowstone National Park is re-igniting the debate over whether there should be any place off limits to technology. Park officials are in preliminary discussions with CenturyLink about installing a $34 million fiber-optic line through neighboring Grand Teton National Park and into Yellowstone. That would dramatically improve connectivity in certain areas for mobile devices. Details on the Yellowstone fiber optic project were obtained by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility through a public records request and confirmed by The Associated Press. The Washington, D.C. advocacy group's executive director, Jeff Ruch, warned that bumping up the park's bandwidth will create more electronic distractions at the expense of the park's natural wonders. The CenturyLink proposal coincides with a National Park Service campaign to "Go Digital" ahead of its 100th anniversary in 2016. And it comes as concession companies have been pushing for more digital access in national parks, including Arizona's Grand Canyon, Texas' Big Bend and Maine's Acadia...more