Twenty years after Johnny Clegg sang "I`m sitting on the top of Kilimanjaro," Vodacom has joined him on the summit of Africa`s tallest mountain, which is also the highest free-standing mountain in the world.
At 5 895 metres, the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro is now the highest point on the planet covered by the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), the cellular standard used by almost half a billion people in 149 countries worldwide.
Vodacom Group is used to covering landmarks, albeit not as huge as Kilimanjaro. Its South African cellular network has base stations on Table Mountain, Robben Island and in the Kruger National Park.
"Vodacom Tanzania`s base station at Marangu Camp is clocking up a significant number of cellphone calls a day, "said Joan Joffe, Group Executive - Corporate Affairs of Vodacom Group.
"The ability to use mobile devices as light as 100 grams to communicate with another person almost anywhere in the world, from the top of a mountain six kilometres high, must surely be on a par with humankind`s greatest feats," said Ms Joffe.
James Rege, Managing Director of Vodacom Tanzania, said that coverage at the summit of Kilimanjaro was provided by a cellular base station located at the foot of the legendary mountain. "In an effort to ensure that our operations did not spoil the natural beauty of Kilimanjaro, engineers from Vodacom Tanzania erected the base station at Marangu Camp, some 3 000 metres away from the pristine summit," said Mr Rege.
"Being able to summon the emergency services quickly and efficiently with the aid of a GSM cellphone, could mean the difference between life and death on what remains a very treacherous mountain," said Mr Rege.
Other high altitude areas where one is able to use a GSM cellphone include La Paz, Bolivia, (The highest capital in the world at 3250 - 4100m), Potosi, Bolivia, (The highest city at 4200m) and Syangboche, Nepal (A base camp for trekking up Everest at 3874m).*
GSM Fact File
At end- January 2001, there were 392 GSM Networks on Air in 147 countries;
By end-January 2001 there were 435,5-million GSM Subscribers - a number which is expected to top 500-million this year;
GSM accounts for 69% of the World`s digital market and 61.9% of the World`s wireless market
SOURCE: EMC WORLD CELLULAR DATABASE
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