Wyoming
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Wyoming wants to phase out sales of new EVs by 2035
In a symbolic action, Wyoming’s state legislature is considering a resolution that calls for a phaseout of new electric vehicle sales by 2035.
T-Mobile boosts coverage with the first 600MHz LTE network
That cellular equipment you see above may not look like much, but don't dismiss it too quickly -- it could be crucial to the future of wireless data. T-Mobile has switched on the world's first 600MHz LTE sites in Cheynne, Wyoming, promising less congested networks (and thus higher real-world speeds) and better coverage, especially indoors and in those rural areas where range is vital. It's a modest start, but the carrier promises more 600MHz sites in 10 additional states before the year is over. The tricky part is getting a device that can take advantage of it... you'll have to wait a while for that.
A supercomputer in coal country is analyzing climate change
In Wyoming, where the state produces about 40 percent of America's coal, a new supercomputer named Cheyenne has just come online to join in the fight against climate change. According to the Associated Press, the $30 million Cheyenne is 20th fastest in the world and is currently working on several projects, including some that will help it predict weather patterns "months to years in advance."
Verizon Wireless goes down in Montana and Wyoming, gets put right back up again
We received a handful of tips overnight from readers in higher altitudes indicating problems with their Verizon Wireless devices, problems that seemed more severe than the last round of outages. Indeed there was a problem that knocked out all service, but it was restricted to areas in and around Montana and Wyoming, and it's said to be already fixed. Verizon said a switch failed during regularly scheduled maintenance, putting early bird subscribers offline for a period of about seven hours. All appears nominal again at the moment, so go ahead, give your friends a call and get them out of bed already. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Wyoming wholly commits to Google apps, adds more flair to state's firsts
Milestone-maker may not be the first words that come to mind when you think 'Wyoming,' but consider this: the state lays claim to the first ever national park (Yellowstone), the first national monument (Devil's Tower), and to being first for women's suffrage. Not content to rest on its laurels, Wyoming Governor Matt Mead put on his early adopter hat and marched all ten thousand civil servant soldiers into the Google cloud. It's a major first for both parties, and might even help Google ease the federal government's earlier MS-favoring snub. By switching solely to Google Apps for Government, Mead says the move will save his great territory significant coin, not to mention getting everybody under the Gmail umbrella like Los Angeles did back in 2009. Unintended consequence of the move? The inefficiency of, oh, about nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine workers whiling away their days on Gchat. Check below for official video of the address.
Verizon finally introduces iPhone to areas with no AT&T coverage
Up until yesterday, mobile phone customers in vast parts of Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, and Nebraska had no way to get an iPhone. Why? There simply wasn't any AT&T coverage in these areas, so the customers -- who were mostly on Verizon -- had no access to the popular smartphone. The addition of Verizon as a U.S. carrier opened up doors for a lot of potential iPhone owners, and it appears that many formerly iPhone-less Verizon customers are now embracing the Apple mobile phone. According to an AP news report carried in the Huffington Post, many Verizon stores opened early yesterday in flyover country and were greeted by enthusiastic groups of buyers. While crowds weren't huge -- most Verizon store managers chalked that up to the freezing temperatures in most of this part of the country -- the stores reported brisk sales of the iPhone 4 during the day and many expected to run out of stock by the weekend. The AP report cited a 20 year-old woman in Fargo, North Dakota who said her Android-based Verizon phone had been the "next best thing in Fargo." The young woman blew her paycheck on the iPhone and said that she had been waiting "so long" for the iPhone to actually arrive in frigid Fargo. Welcome to the world of iPhone, Fargo!
Sprint losing on-network coverage in parts of Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming
If you're in the magnificent boondocks of North America and you're on Sprint, you're going to have to start to be a little more careful with your voice and data usage -- in fact, if you live in parts of North Dakota, Wyoming, or Montana, you might be forced to consider a carrier change on news that some swaths of on-network footprint are changing to roaming coverage on March 1st. The move is said to be a result of Verizon's divestiture of certain ex-Alltel markets to AT&T, and it means that if you're on Sprint and you use more than 800 voice minutes (or half your plan) in the new roaming areas in a month, the carrier's liable to suspend you; similarly, you won't be able to exceed 300MB of data. Certain device and plan features don't work in roaming areas, either -- Sprint details them on its FAQ page about the change -- so if you live in those parts, you might need to look at moving to greener pastures. [Thanks, Kenneth L.]
Verizon down in Wyoming, Colorado, parts of the Midwest?
We're getting a boatload of tips this morning that Verizon service has been down in Wyoming, Colorado, and parts of the Midwest this morning. An article posted on Wyoming's thetrib.com cites a "technical snafu" overnight at a Colorado-based switching center as the culprit with plans in place to have everything back up and running by late morning Mountain Time today, but we're curious who all has been affected -- Midwesterners in particular, have you gotten dragged into this nonsense? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Update: We've received Verizon's official statement, and it sounds like everything should've been back on the straight and narrow by 2PM MT today; for what it's worth, Denver and the surrounding areas were never affected.
Unsolicited laptops sent to state governments never get used, now under investigation
Tempting though it may be, shipments of HP and Compaq (another HP brand) laptops sent to various US state governments have been sent either back to the manufacturer or to local investigators with nary even a game of Spider Solitaire in its account logs. As it turns out, the packages of three to five machines sent to each state -- West Virginia, Vermont, Wyoming, and Washington -- were never ordered, and in at least three of the cases were purchased with fraudulent credit cards of unknown origin. Even with the shipments apparently coming from HP directly, officials are playing it safe and working under the guise of the machines possibly having malicious code running through its circuitry. You know who the biggest victim in all this is? That guy in Human Resources who legitimately bought a Mini 1000 and had it shipped to the state's office for pickup. Worst. Timing. Ever.
MountainWest Sports Network makes HD debut November 22
Despite BYU's fall from the national championship picture, MountainWest fans have something to cheer about as the The Mtn - MountainWest Sports Network makes the leap to HDTV broadcasting Saturday, November 22 with a doubleheader of Colorado State/Wyoming and BYU/Utah college football. Also in HD on The Mtn are all the pre and postgame shows, giving a planned nine hours of sweet, sweet high definition. Now, about that whole needing a sidecar to pour a regular drink thing...[Via KSL]
Bresnan Communications adds Outdoor Channel HD
Bresnan Communications, the 13th largest cable operator in the US, has fittingly added Outdoor Channel HD to its lineup in Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado. Given the areas in which it serves, it makes sense to offer up an outdoor-oriented station in high-def, which Randy Brown, senior vice president of affiliate sales and marketing, completely agrees with. Let us guess -- fishing will be the most watched sport.
"First" US WiMAX deployment goes live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Bet you didn't see this one coming. With everyone's eyes fixed firmly on Sprint's supposedly forthcoming US WiMAX deployment in Baltimore, Chicago and Washington, DC, DigitalBridge Communications has snuck in to steal a little of the spotlight. As we speak, America's "first" (um, really?) mobile WiMAX deployment has gone live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming courtesy of Alvarion's BreezeMAX gear. The firms are hoping that high-brow tourists that come to tackle the black diamonds of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort will also bring their WiMAX-enabled device and / or WiMAX card to send enviable photos back home, but only time will tell if folks find value in the offering. DBC is expected to expand the network's reach in the area (which currently hits 3,000 homes and businesses), and then "add mobile capabilities throughout its 200,000-household footprint."[Image courtesy of TerryDreams]
Hotel Terra Jackson Hole getting HD IPTV, HD VOD
For HD junkies planning a trip out west to experience some "real powder," make sure you put Hotel Terra Jackson Hole high on your list of places to stay. The boutique facility, which is located at the stunning Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming, is currently being developed in two phases. Once finished, it will offer up 132 rooms featuring Guest-Tek's OneView Media solution, which aims to deliver an undisclosed amount of free-to-guest HD channels via IPTV alongside a nice helping of video-on-demand content. Also of note, just 72 of the guest rooms will go live with the service this Spring, while the other 60 will be wrapped up in 2010.
