Mount Fansipan is nicknamed the Roof of Indochina because it is the highest mountain in Vietnam. Standing at 3,143 meters or 10,311 feet at the resort town of Sa Pa, it is also perhaps the most popular, receiving a large number of both local and foreign tourists the whole year round. Now, visitors can enjoy more and even share their experience in real time as 3G coverage is now available in the place.
VinaPhone is the service provider of the mobile broadband at Mount Fansipan which took over 50 days of work. The first transceiver station was set up at 3,045 meters above around the area with a speed of 42 megabytes per second within a three to four kilometres of distance from the mountain peak. The service includes broadband internet and phone calls, allowing visitors to send and share their pictures, notes and overall memories at the amazing mountain.
Image by http://climbfansipan.com/
But perhaps more than social media interaction, the new service is very important in providing and maintaining communication and safety between the tourists and staff at Hoang Lien National Park, where Mount Fansipan is located. In July 2014, a person was reported missing after he and his group hiked the mountain without going through the proper registration process. Pham Ngoc Anh was a 20-year old college student from Hanoi who must have taken a different path and got lost after his group stopped for a rest. His body was never found which Lao Cai officials said was strange and alarming because although some people do go missing on the mountain, they were always rescued after a short while or at the most, several days.
Just last month December 2014, another hiker was rescued after getting lost, running out of food and cold at about 3 Degrees Celsius in a forest near Fansipan mountain. Fortunately, Burstein Noam, a 23-year old Israelian, was able to call his family and the Israeli embassy in Hanoi who in turn contacted the park management.
The series of tragic incidents served as a lesson for the park authorities who immediately implemented stricter hiking rules at Mount Fansipan. The new network connects to fire control, rescue and resource management in real time, ensuring fast and reliable service all the time, ensuring the safety and overall enjoyment of the visitors.