How is this possible? I sometimes struggle to find a decent signal in the basement of my house, but folks trekking around on Mount Everest will soon have utterly clear cell phone reception. This is because Huawei Technologies has been hired by China Mobile to install a GSM Base Station at the top of the world’s tallest peak.

The base station is being placed there so that athletes, spectators, and officials can yak it up on their mobile phones during the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. More specifically, this is where the Olympic Torch Relay Team will finish their journey: at the summit. This is to ensure their safety.

To be built at an altitude of 6,500 meters, the GSM base station should be enough to cover the base camp on Everest as well as the main route to the mountain’s top.