Do you know where the danger is? Kilimanjaro now has high speed WiFi

Tanzanian minister says connectivity will also improve safety of porters and visitors, but they need to watch their step.

Tanzanian minister hails move and says connectivity will also improve safety of porters and visitors, but climbers think otherwise

Cape Town – Tanzania has provided high-speed internet on Mount Kilimanjaro, which will allow tourists to post about their adventure on Africa’s tallest mountain online.

Now, thanks to new high-speed internet service, they’ll also be able to post photos, check email and surf the web while hiking the towering 5 890 metre-high mountain in Tanzania, according to the Smithsonian magazine.

The state-owned Tanzania Telecommunications Corp. installed the fibre-optic broadband network as part of the government’s broader push to improve internet connectivity via its National ICT Broadband Backbone initiative, said reports.

For the foreseeable future, adventurers will have reliable WiFi up to 3 720 metres while ascending the peak.

The government says it hopes to offer internet connectivity all the way to the summit by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, according to men’s lifestyle magazine Inside Hook, the installing of high-speed internet on the mountain is a divisive topic among alpinists and locals alike.

Inside Hook suggests that although there are many benefits to having WiFi on a mountain where there are roughly 10 fatalities a year, safety remains a priority.

“Should a hiker need immediate assistance, it will be exponentially easier for rescuers to pinpoint their location, thus expediting the speed at which they’re able to reach said hiker,” Inside Hook reported.

Hikers will be able to share their climb in real time by way of photos, texts, emails and even live streams.

Do you know where the danger is?

“Hiking Kilimanjaro is obviously no small feat, even for the most experienced of alpinists. Not only does it require a certain level of experience and physical fitness, it also warrants your undivided attention, which a vibrating phone doesn’t necessarily lend itself well to,” Inside Hook reported.

Tourism contributes 18% of Tanzania’s GDP. Tanzania made $1 253 billion from tourism from October 2020 to October 2021.

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