Wi-Fi Access Introduced in West Virginia’s Green Bank Observatory Quiet Zone
GREEN BANK, W.Va. — December 5, 2025 — The Green Bank Observatory’s Quiet Zone in West Virginia has allowed Wi-Fi access for the first time, marking a significant change in the area’s longstanding restrictions designed to protect the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope, officials said.
The Quiet Zone, established in the late 1950s by the Federal Communications Commission and the state of West Virginia, encompasses a 13,000-square-mile radius around the observatory. Within this zone, limitations on cell towers, antenna heights, and transmission coordination—including microwave links—have been strictly enforced to prevent interference with the telescope’s sensitive radio frequency observations.
The Green Bank Observatory, operated by the U.S. National Science Foundation, has been in continuous operation since its construction in 1956. It serves as a critical facility for radio astronomy research, with a public science center that attracts approximately 50,000 visitors annually, according to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s public information manager, Jill Malusky.
In August, the observatory announced that Green Bank Elementary and Middle School, located adjacent to the telescope, would be permitted to use Wi-Fi. Residents and businesses within the Quiet Zone are now also allowed to use 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, a frequency band that had previously been restricted due to its potential to interfere with the observatory’s scientific work.
A press release from the observatory explained that Wi-Fi signals operate on radio frequencies similar to those emitted by celestial objects studied by astronomers. When Wi-Fi is active, these overlapping frequencies can obscure the faint signals the telescope aims to detect.
Anthony Remijan, director of the Green Bank Observatory, said the organization is working to balance the need for scientific integrity with the realities of modern technology. “When these Quiet Zones were created in the late 1950s, officials could not have predicted the technology using radio wavelengths that are almost an essential part of our daily lives,” Remijan said.
Malusky noted that the observatory collaborated closely with the school’s administration and IT staff to implement the Wi-Fi introduction safely. Despite the new allowance, visitors to the observatory are still required to disable all wireless signals on mobile phones and other smart devices upon arrival to prevent interference.
The public science center offers interactive exhibits that educate visitors about radio astronomy and the universe, maintaining its role as a key educational resource even as it adapts to technological changes in the surrounding community.
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