Skiddaw House gets Connected
A report in Cellular News tells how Skiddaw House, which rejoined the YHA network earlier this year, has managed to overcome the communication problems inherent in its isolated position:
The problem faced by the Skiddaw House Foundation Trust was how to operate a viable and successful hostel given that no one could book accommodation either by phone or by email. British Telecom had quoted a prohibitive sum of £65,000 to install a landline some ten years ago. Satellite phone communication costs are unaffordable.
To make matters worse not even mobile phones are able to work in such a remote location.
Enter a gizmo called the Burnside Desktop Mobile, spotted on the internet by one of the trustees. Essentially, it’s a souped up mobile phone that’s able to pick up a signal where your ordinary hand-held version wouldn’t. It will even work off the hostel’s solar cells.
As a result, Skiddaw has access to the telephone, the internet, email and SMS text messaging. The warden, Martin Webster, says:
I cannot imagine us having to go back to using the Citizens Band radio we tried to use in the past. The Burnside terminal has transformed our lives up here in the mountains enabling visitors to phone or email their bookings and letting us keep in contact with our friends and relatives. This was never possible before.
Maybe there are other remote hostels out there that could follow Skiddaw’s lead?
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