Huawei and China Mobile stick a 5G base station on Mount Everest

Chinese telecoms giants Huawei and China Mobile have chosen the highest mountain in the world to make some kind of point about how great they are at 5G.

They put a base station 6,500 meters up Mount Everest, from which they reckon people will be able to access 5G from the summit. We’ve all been there, haven’t we? You get to the top of the world and fancy streaming the footie while you’re up there. Until now bored climbers were forced to talk to each other at the summit, but no longer.

There’s a distinctly nationalistic flavour to the stunt too. “It comes on the 60th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Mount Everest from the northern slope and the 45th anniversary of China’s first official accurate measurement of Mount Everest,” declared the press release. “Significantly, the 5G network on Mount Everest will provide communication services for the 2020 Mount Everest re-measurement.”

Maybe that measurement 45 years ago wasn’t so accurate after all then. The border of China (specifically the Tibet Autonomous Region) and Nepal goes through the peak of Mount Everest, with China claiming the northern half, which is presumably where this base station has been placed. The announcement features the usual chest-beating about the technological and commercial prowess this demonstrates on the part of the companies involved, but we’ll spare you the gory details.

“Huawei strongly believes that technology means to make the world better,” concluded the press release. “The beauty of Mount Everest can be displayed via 5G high-definition video and VR experience, which also provides further insights for mountaineers, scientists and other specialists into the nature. The ground-breaking establishment on Mount Everest once again proves that 5G technology connect mankind and the Earth harmoniously.”

Whether the growing legions of 5G conspiracy theorists will agree is distinctly uncertain. After all, what better way to control the minds of the world than to beam malevolent radiation from the top of it? Having said that, if any of them manage to vandalize this 5G base station they at least deserve top marks for effort. Here’s a diagram to explain why they may be mistaken.