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Want To Disconnect? This US Region Bans Cell Service and Wi-Fi
No Wi-Fi, No Radio, No Cell Service, No Problem
If you find yourself driving through portions of Virginia or West Virginia, you might get frustrated to see your cell service slowly fade away. The bars will drop to one and then zero. The radio will fade out. Soon your favorite stations will degrade into the faint buzzing of static. This is not due to the remoteness of the area. This is intentional. That is because, in this region, the government heavily restricts radio emissions and polices the people within the borders to ensure that they are not putting out too much ambient radiation.
The United States National Radio Quiet Zone (USNRQZ) is an area encompassing 13,000 square miles centered around the Green Bank Observatory. The USNRQZ is comprised of West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland. Within the borders of the zone, radio waves are heavily restricted. The closer you get to the observatories and government facilities nestled throughout, the fewer signals you will receive.
The lack of radio waves has drawn people of all kinds to this area. People who want to live off the grid are attracted to this place, so are government spooks and people who suffer from electromagnetic sensitivity. This is one of the few places left in the United States (outside of the…
