This town in US has no internet, no phone, no wi-fi, no microwave due to…, its name is…
Green Bank, West Virginia, is often referred to as America’s quietest town. Visitors to Green Bank must rely on traditional methods, like reading road signs, to navigate the area, as GPS signals stop working upon approaching the town. This quaint place features two churches, a primary school, a library, and the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope. Despite being just a four-hour drive from Washington, D.C., Wi-Fi internet service is unavailable in this small town.
The reason lies in the fact that Green Bank is located within the United States’ National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ), a unique area established in 1958, spanning 33,000 square kilometers. The purpose of the NRQZ is to minimize radio frequency interference. Green Bank is home to the Green Bank Observatory, which houses the steerable radio telescope.
To ensure the telescope’s operations remain undisturbed, technologies that produce electromagnetic waves—such as Wi-Fi internet connections and microwave ovens—are strictly prohibited in the area.
Let’s explore why internet and phone signals are restricted in this zone.
Protecting Scientific Research
The Green Bank Telescope (GBT) is designed to detect extremely faint radio waves coming from space. Signals from Wi-Fi, cell phones, and other electronic devices can interfere with the telescope’s ability to collect accurate data.
Devices that generate radio waves, such as cell phones, microwaves, and even certain types of vehicles, are strictly prohibited in the area surrounding the observatory.
Who monitors compliance?
A local Radio Interference Officer is responsible for monitoring the region to ensure adherence to these regulations. If any device is found causing interference, it can be confiscated or deactivated. While these restrictions may seem stringent, they are essential for the observatory to conduct research on space phenomena, such as gravitational waves and other cosmic mysteries.
Time stands still
In Green Bank, it feels as though time has frozen in the 1950s. This is due to the 33,000-square-kilometer “Silence Zone” surrounding the Green Bank Telescope. The residents have adapted to this unique lifestyle, relying on payphones for communication. The closer you get to the telescope, the stricter the restrictions become. Within a 16-kilometer radius around the Green Bank Observatory, radio-controlled devices, including toys, are banned, and these rules are enforced rigorously.
Inspections at every home
Radio frequency technicians act as the observatory’s technical enforcers. If they suspect unauthorized signals, they inspect homes to ensure no prohibited devices are in use. Observatory staff work in a specially designed room resembling a “sarcophagus,” which prevents electromagnetic waves from entering or escaping.
An observatory official described the room: “Imagine a submarine that keeps water out. This room is like an electric submarine, where no electromagnetic waves can pass through, in or out.” The scientists’ primary job is to minimize external interference with the radio telescope. The official added that restricted devices are only allowed near the telescope once a week during routine maintenance sessions.
Scientists await to detect signals by aliens
According to a report by VOA News, the football-field-sized Green Bank Telescope is so sensitive that it could potentially detect signals sent by alien civilizations—a moment scientists are eagerly anticipating. Researcher Richard Lynch stated, “So far, every signal we’ve captured with the telescope has come from cosmic objects like stars and galaxies. We haven’t yet received any signals from an intelligent civilization.”
Locals happy without Wi-Fi
The residents of Green Bank respect the scientists’ work and are content living without Wi-Fi. Sherry, the manager of the town’s largest store, was born in Green Bank and finds life without internet perfectly normal. “Yes, we’re different. Many would say we live in the past with old-fashioned ways. But for us, this is just the life we’ve always known,” she said.
A relic from the past hangs on the wall of her store—a wired telephone, the only means of making calls in Green Bank.
Everyone knows everyone
Sherry explains, “When we want to meet friends, we call each other on the wired phone. Instead of sitting in front of a TV screen, we talk, go fishing, or explore the mountains.” For fresh news, locals rely on the weekly newspaper. If Sherry needs someone’s phone number, she turns to a phone book. Unlike Facebook, she enjoys daily face-to-face conversations with her customers. In this town, everyone knows each other, and interactions happen in person.
Internet Ban in North Korea
North Korea is another place where internet access is completely banned. Citizens are limited to using a government-controlled intranet, which provides only state-approved information. Those with connections to the outside world lack access to the global internet, leaving them entirely isolated from international events.