Tanzania launches internet on Mount Kilimanjaro slopes

Tanzania has high-speed internet services on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, allowing anyone with a smartphone to tweet, Instagram or WhatsApp their ascent up Africa's highest mountain.

State-owned Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation set up a broadband network at an altitude of 3,720 m 12,200 ft with the country's information minister, Nape Nnauye, calling the event historic.

It was a bit dangerous for visitors and porters who had to operate without internet, Nnauye said at the launch of the service, flanked by government officials and tourists.

He said all visitors will get connected to this point of the mountain at the Horombo Huts, one of the camps en route to the peak.

He said that the summit of the 5,895 m 19,300 ft mountain would have internet connectivity by the end of the year.

Last year, the Tanzanian government announced plans to build a cable car on the southern side of Kilimanjaro, sparking uproar among climbers, expedition companies and environmentalists.

Mount Kilimanjaro is an important source of tourism revenue in Tanzania and neighbouring Kenya, with around 35,000 people trying to reach the peak each year.

The mountain is part of a national park and a world heritage site, as well as being aUNESCO World Heritage Site, according to Ernest Hemingway's novel The Snows of Kilimanjaro.

The world of mountaineering has become more and more dependent on technology, with climbers on Mount Everest enjoying easy access to wifi, power generators and smartphones that make it possible to share photos and make SOS calls in the event of an accident.

In contrast, when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of the world's tallest mountain on 29 May 1953, the news did not reach the outside world until June 2, just in time for Queen's coronation.