BOISE, Idaho — During the Super Bowl T-Mobile debuted a commercial about a service they are working on with Starlink to connect people anywhere in the country.
The T-Satellite service is currently in the beta stage, but the plan is to debut it in July. Here in Idaho, we have a lot of places where you get no signal on your cellphone.
Steve Zettel has been a guide in the Frank Church Wilderness of No Return since 1980. He started the Not in Wilderness Coalition in an effort to keep phones out of wilderness areas, and Idaho has ten designated wilderness areas encompassing 4.8 million acres.
"I know if they come for two days they have a good time, if they come for four days it is a great time, and if they come for six days it is life changing," said Zettel. "That’s because there is something that happens magically with time and separation. It is wonderful. We have seen it with thousands of guests and how it can transform people."
One of those guests includes the DeBlasio family in Middleton. They have been going on hunting trips in the fall, horseback rides to a fish camp, and rafting down the Middle Fork of the Salmon since 1982. This fall, 11-year-old Deacon and his family will go on a mule deer hunt, making it four generations of DeBlasios in the Frank.
"We just like being out in the wilderness hanging out with each [other]," said Deacon. "It's only nature and the animals, it is just really fun and cool to be out there, out there in the wild with your family members."
Steve Zettel runs Idaho Wilderness Company, and he started the Not in Wilderness Coalition because he worries that technology will change the wilderness experience.
It already has in several ways with social media influencers giving away locations, people can play music anywhere they want with Bluetooth, not to mention people talking on the phone while hiking. However, there are also a lot of positives when it comes to technology in the outdoors. People can now easily call for help, use offline mapping technology to stay on the right track, and take pictures of their adventures along the way.
T-Mobile just had their best quarter in company history and they lowered the price of T-Satellite service because it has garnered so much interest. It could also be a game-changer when it comes to safety and emergency situations.
Everybody has a choice on what services they want if they want to bring a cellphone into the wilderness. My biggest question for Steve was: "what is wrong if I bring my phone as long as it doesn't bother anyone else?"
"Go ahead Steve, you go down the river and you play your music and talk on the phone, but I know what you are losing if you do it," said Zettel. "I think that people ahead of us preserved this for a reason, and I think they could have never foreseen what challenges it would have [brought] moving forward. It is 2025, and the next challenge has shown up."
Zettel has also published a book called the Organic Treadmill and Other Powers of the Wilderness in January. Deacon actually got paid to do the artwork, as this book goes more in-depth into Steve's argument and is also one of the biggest fundraising items for the coalition.
Deacon DeBlasio doesn't have a phone, but he told me he would rather draw or be in the wilderness with his family. It's an interesting statement, as how many young kids do you know would rather pass on screen time for other activities?
"You can just look outside and see something cool, it is way better than a phone," said Deacon. "Being outside in the wilderness with no phone is being there in the moment and having fun."
For more information on the Not in Wilderness Coalition, click her,e and for more information on the T-Satellite service, click here.
