The Big Hangup At Burning Man Is Cell Phones

Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "L. J. Williamson writes in the LA Times that with no running water, no plumbing, and no electrical outlets Burning Man isn't the kind of place to expect full bars on your smartphone and for many of the participants that's a big part of its charm. 'If you want to partake in the true Burning Man experience, you should leave your phone at home,' says Mark Hansen. In past years, the closest cellular towers, designed to serve the nearby towns of Empire (population 206) and Gerlach (population 217), would quickly get overwhelmed each August when Black Rock City (population 50,000 or so) rose from the featureless playa. Although Burning Man attracts a sizable Silicon Valley contingent including tech giants like Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin — the feeling of being 'unplugged' has become an integral part of the Burning Man experience. But another part of the event is an intrepid, DIY ethos, and in that spirit, David Burgess, co-creator of OpenBTS, an open-source cellular network software, brought a homemade in 2008, an 'almost comical' setup that created a working cellular network that routed a few hundred calls over a 48-hour period. In each subsequent year, Burgess has improved the system's reach and expects to have about three-quarters of this year's event covered. Burning Man proved an ideal test bed for development of Burgess' system, which he has since made available for use in other areas without cellular networks. 'People who have a lot of experience in international aid say Burning Man is a very good simulation of a well-organized refugee camp,' says Burgess. 'Because there's no infrastructure, it forces us to contend with a lot of problems that our rural customers have to contend with in very remote places.'"

Comments

Gentry pseudo-hippies

[Anonymous Coward]

Trust fund rebels can't get a signal on their iStuff.

Re:Gentry pseudo-hippies

[teaserX]

Here's yer mod-up, AC style +1

If you have to have cell service

[Spy Handler]

at Burning Man, you're a fucking poser and really shouldn't even be there.

Re:If you have to have cell service

[cayenne8]

Burning Man stands for absolutely nothing other than privileged, usually white people who want to go waste a lot of time while being very conscious of the fact that this supposedly makes them cool.

Yeah...bad time to be a white person. I mean, what are they all thinking...having time off and disposable income and wasting it on themselves rather than sharing it with the more deserving people who are having to do without.

Geez...the bastards.

Re:If you have to have cell service

[GonzoPhysicist]

Actually "people at Burning Man us[ing] their talents to actually do something constructive" is how the whole thing works. Where do you think all the art, events, bars, DJs, classes, and other fun stuff comes from? They weren't paid to be there.
While it is true that there are those that come to mooch off all this creativity and culture, but one of the central tenets is being part of the community and contributing to it.

Re:If you have to have cell service

[Anonymous Coward]

Buying a plow to send to a third world nation creates a culture of dependency and means that local businesses have to compete with free in order to survive. Consequently, the people in these countries have an extremely difficult time building up their own economy. Sending free stuff to third world countries only perpetuates them being third world.

But I guess it makes the privileged first worlder feel good about himself, so it does some good. And that's what's really important, anyway.

Re:Interesting assessment

[Hatta]

On the contrary, it seems like Burning Man is uninviting to anyone who doesn't have a real job. Who else can afford tickets? My sense is that a lot of burners are professionals the other 51 weeks of the year. Burning Man is a huge release from all the conformity they deal with the rest of the year. They get one week out of the year to feel cool, so they make it as extreme as possible.

Re:Burning mens' wallets

[Anonymous Coward]

Burning man is a gay orgy sans the sex.

*cancels tickets*

Re:hidden smoldering man

[Anonymous Coward]

I know you know you better than I know you but have you ever considered that the event changed less than you have? There's a lot of things I liked even 10 years ago and when I try to revisit them I think they suck. More and more I've come to the realization that what has changed really isn't that much worse and what I like that hasn't changed just doesn't appeal to me anymore. I've never been to burning man but I've done other counter culture events and I can see how much I've changed in them.