Tanzania has installed high-speed Internet services on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, allowing climbers with a smartphone to tweet, Instagram or WhatsApp their ascent up Africa’s highest mountain.

State-owned Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation set up the broadband network on August 16 at an altitude of 3 720 metres, with Information Minister Nape Nnauye calling the event “historic”. 

“Previously, it was a bit dangerous for visitors and porters, who had to operate without Internet," said Nnauye at the launch of the service.

“All visitors will get connected… [up to] this point of the mountain," he said at the Horombo Huts, one of the camps en route to the peak.

He said the summit of the 5 895-metre mountain would have Internet connectivity by the end of the year.

Andre Van Kets, co-founder of Discover Africa, believes the new high-speed Internet installation could potentially increase the attraction of the mountain for tourists, but he also raises concerns of over-tourism.

“I believe the Internet installation is a double-edged sword. It may well have the desired (marketing) effect of increasing the demand for successful Kili ascents, but I believe Tanzania’s tourism authorities need to monitor numbers carefully to avoid the pitfalls of over-tourism to this destination.”

Mount Kilimanjaro is an important source of tourism revenue in Tanzania and neighbouring Kenya, with about 35 000 people attempting to summit it each year.