4G Coverage Is Expanding ... to the Moon!

Imagine going all the way to the Moon and not being able to take a selfie! No fear — Nokia announced on Monday that it had been selected by NASA to build a 4G mobile network on the Moon. The mission will be carried out by Nokia’s U.S. research arm, Bell Labs (purchased by Nokia in 2015). The goal is to launch a mobile base tower in 2022. Considering the success of Nokia’s famously durable early cell phones, their choice may come as no surprise: “The solution has been specially designed to withstand the harsh conditions of the launch and lunar landing, and to operate in the extreme conditions of space.” The $14.1 million NASA grant to Nokia was announced on Wednesday, Oct.14, as part of the agency’s “Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative.”