Summer is upon us, so for the May Map of the Month series, the Project’s mapping team analyzed broadband capabilities at Visitor Centers in Utah’s outdoor recreation areas.
In the graphic at right, you can view maximum advertised data speeds for each mobile wireless provider for state and national park visitor centers. You can also view, for each attraction area, the highest speed available via a fixed broadband connection in the nearest community. Only mobile availability is displayed for the recreation areas themselves, as the primary use case is for visitors is through a mobile devices. Fixed broadband connections (DSL, cable, fiber, fixed wireless), are displayed for the community, as this is the basis for connections made by businesses such as hotels and shops. Note that the highest fixed connection speed in a community might be to a school or other facility and the highest speed may not be available to all broadband customers. However, the highest speed is a good indicator for the general broadband capabilities that exist within the community.
To provide additional context, the total number of annual visitors for each attraction area from 2013 is also included. You can see that a lot of areas and communities are well covered and well visited. However, some parks such as Capitol Reef, don’t have ready access to mobile broadband coverage. Also, some areas, such as Zion and Springdale, or Glen Canyon and Bullfrog, have a high number of visitors, but have slower speeds than other areas. The location of all visitor centers listed in the summary table are viewable on the map at left.
To see detailed mobile coverage areas and speeds available throughout the recreation areas, visit the Project’s interactive map: broadband.utah.gov/map. To filter by mobile or fixed broadband only, use the Data Filters under “Technology Type”. To zoom to a park, monument, or community, start typing the name in the search box in the upper right corner of the map, and use the drop down menu that appears.
Enjoy Utah’s world class recreation opportunities this summer. Put your devices away occasionally to better connect with the recreation experience, but do make use of the broadband connectivity to share your adventures wide and far.