A total of 167 cellphone service points have been installed on Yushan (玉山), the national park said yesterday, but still advised hikers to bring a satellite telephone or other wireless communication device in case of disrupted service.
The Yushan National Park Headquarters last year added 69 mobile coverage hot spots on the nation’s tallest mountain.
The park in 2020 collaborated with Far EasTone Telecommunications to set up 98 hot spots along trails to provide coverage in remote areas.
Photo courtesy of Chunghwa Telecom via CNA
Last year, it worked with Chunghwa Telecom and Taiwan Mobile to expand the network to 167 hotspots, with the updated list released yesterday.
Signs in Chinese and English along trails indicate locations with cell service, as well as the provider.
All the peak trails now have coverage, as well as the Mabolasi Traverse (馬博拉斯橫斷), the South Section Two (南二段) trail, the Sinkang Traverse (新康橫斷) and the Batongguan Traversing Trail (八通關越嶺道), the headquarters said.
Hikers standing near a sign should be able to access a service as usual, it said.
Those with a different provider would still be able to dial 112 and contact emergency services, it added.
However, the headquarters also advised that weather and geographic conditions, as well as phone quality, can affect service, even at the hot spots.
As there is in practice no single device that can provide adequate coverage, it recommended that hikers — especially people on longer, multiday hikes — bring a backup device such as a satellite phone in case of emergency.
A detailed list of the hot spots can be downloaded from the national park’s Web site at ysnp.gov.tw/StaticPage/CommunicationReferencePoint.
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