22 August 2022
We are delighted to share the latest news from Tanzania: there is now high-speed internet on Mount Kilimanjaro! It is a major step forward for safety and connectivity in some of the country’s wildest places. Read the latest press release from Your Tanzania Trip below to find out more about this great development.
High-speed internet arrives on Mount Kilimanjaro in a major development for Tanzania
The team at luxury travel company Your Tanzania Trip is pleased to announce that Mount Kilimanjaro now has high-speed internet, following the latest investment by the Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation (TTC). The broadband towers went live officially on Tuesday 16th August, bringing internet coverage up to an altitude of 3,720 metres. Many in Tanzania have hailed the step as a historic milestone for the region.
At the launch of the service at Horombo Huts, a well-used camp on the way to Kilimanjaro’s summit, Tanzania’s minister of information and communication, Nape Moses Nnauye, welcomed the development. “Previously, it was a bit dangerous for visitors and porters who had to operate without internet,” he said. “All visitors will get connected (up to) this point of the mountain.” The aim is to achieve full connectivity by the end of 2022, with coverage set to reach Uhuru Peak at 5,895 metres.
Improved safety on Kilimanjaro
As Africa’s highest mountain and the highest freestanding mountain in the world, Mount Kilimanjaro is on the bucket list of casual hikers and seasoned mountaineers alike, drawing more than 35,000 visitors a year. Thanks to the new internet facilities, anyone climbing Mt Kilimanjaro can now count on far better access to safety and navigation tools.
Beyond the safety benefits, a connected Mount Kilimanjaro also lets visitors stay in touch with family and friends back home and share the trip of a lifetime as it happens. Speaking recently to Dutch news corporation RTLnieuws, Hjörids, Your Tanzania Trip’s guide on the scene, explained what the mountain’s new connected status means for climbers. “It’s incredibly unique that you can now have an internet connection even way up there on Kilimanjaro,” she said. “It’s not only about having fun and posting on social media, but it’s also a very useful development. In terms of salvage and rescue work on the challenging slopes of Africa’s highest mountain, having this level of connectivity can be life-saving.”
Keeping in touch in the world’s wildest places
To push connectivity further across the country, Nape Moses Nnauye has also asked the TTC to roll out the same operations at a number of other tourist sites and national parks nationwide, all of which points to a far better connected Tanzania in the near future.
“Tanzania’s tourism industry grows every year,” says our founder at Your Tanzania Trip. “Developments like this greatly strengthen the infrastructure behind that booming market. Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the most popular experiences among our guests at Your Tanzania Trip, so we all appreciate how significant this development is for Tanzania and look forward to better connectivity and stronger safety measures for everyone.”
To learn more about climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with Your Tanzania Trip, or to talk to our guide on the ground in Kilimanjaro, please contact the media team at tijskrops2005@gmail.com. Our Kilimanjaro gets Connected media library can be found here.
