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.
