It's a pitch that resonates in the United States, where Pew Research data shows 85 percent of US adults say they have a smartphone and nearly a third report they are "almost constantly" online. "In a world today where we can never go more than a minute or two without hearing the beep or the buzz of a technology device, it is the place you can go to get away from all of this," said Chelsea Ruby, the state's secretary of tourism. West Virginia state tourism officials promote this quirk of the area as the "ultimate digital detox". Locals said wireless internet has become widespread in recent years and that they hadn't faced any sanctions, despite rules that technically allow violators to be fined $50.Įven before WiFi's proliferation, locals got their dose of Netflix or Facebook via hardwired internet connections, yet cell service has remained non-existent under the rules. Yvonne Wallech looks at her mobile phone while tending to her gift shop in Green Bank, West Virginia ROBERTO SCHMIDT AFP The zone imposes limits and oversight on man made radio waves in the 13,000 square miles (almost 34,000 square kilometers) that surround Green Bank, where restrictions are officially supposed to be tightest on electronic noise makers like WiFi routers. To protect the observatory's work, as well as the operations of a nearby spy installation, the US government created the National Radio Quiet Zone in 1958. That's because it is home to the over six-decade-old Green Bank Observatory, which requires radio silence to be able to peer deep into space to observe stars and black holes. "Coming here and being able - if you want - to get away from it (internet), there is a certain cleansing that comes to you, that gives you time to clear your mind," the 59-year-old owner of a gift shop told AFP.īut Green Bank is changing: Wifi is officially discouraged but has become common, property values are climbing and not everyone agrees about what comes next for this seeming digital age refuge that is fraught with complexity.ĭespite its population of under 200 people and remote location among rolling hills, dense forests and farms about four hours' drive from the US capital Washington, it is a place of international fascination. She has internet at her property in Green Bank, West Virginia but as soon as she leaves home - and is not on someone else's connection - there are no pings, dings or rings. Yvonne Wallech loves the digital respite and sense of community in her tiny US town, where cell phone service is effectively barred and outsiders come seeking the shelter of that quiet.