Democracy Dies in Darkness

Mt. Kilimanjaro gets the internet, a gift to those climbing for the ’gram

August 18, 2022 at 8:38 a.m. EDT
Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, seen from southern Kenya in 2012. (Ben Curtis/AP)
3 min

If your climb to the top of Africa’s tallest mountain isn’t posted on Instagram, did it even, like, happen?

Adventurers can now upload their ascents to share with family, friends and followers in real time, after Tanzania’s Information Ministry moved this week to install high-speed internet in the area.

“Today Up on Mount Kilimanjaro: I am hoisting high-speed INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS (BROADBAND) on the ROOF OF AFRICA,” tweeted Tanzania’s minister of information and communication, Nape Moses Nnauye. “Tourists can now communicate worldwide from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.”