From Telephones to Fiber Optics: Tibet Gets Wired

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, October 24, 2002

From Telephones to Fiber Optics: Tibet Gets Wired

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In an Internet cafe near the Potala Palace, Xiang Jun sent an e-mail to his parents thousands of kilometers away from the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region -- a message they would receive seconds later.

Having worked in Tibet for years, Xiang used to contact his family through letters and phone calls.

"It takes time and money," he said. Now he chats online with his family and friends in his hometown and sends e-cards to them at festivals. "Things are different since the Internet was introduced," he said.

Tibet is taking up residence in the global village. About 4,000households have gone online through their telephone lines and in all six prefectures of Tibet people have access to the Internet.

More than 100 websites about Tibet exist in simplified Chinese, some of which are quite popular.

Tibetan scientists are developing a computer operating system that can work in Tibetan, Chinese and English. Software has been developed for computer engineers to write computer programs in Tibetan.

The Internet is not the only technology used more often in Tibet. Traditional communication, from land lines to mobile phonesto televisions, is being widely applied as well. Public telephones using smart cards are scattered around the streets of Lhasa, and 100 more have been set up in the city in recent days.

In call boxes in the Potala Palace, tourists make long distance phone calls easily while at bazaars Tibetan businessmen pick up mobile phones from time to time.

Cedain Doje, a villager from the first Tibetan village equipped with a telephone, regularly calls his daughter who goes to school in south China's Guangdong Province. Residents in the most isolated prefecture Ari also enjoy telephone service now. China Unicom, one of the country's telecom giants, promoted CDMA mobile phone service in Tibet this year. And in seven cities and prefectures GSM mobile phone service has been provided.

Almost all major telecom companies, including China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom and Jitong Communications Corp., set up affiliates here providing services of fixed telephone, mobile phone and Internet access.

By the end of last year, telecommunication services in Tibet earned 590 million yuan. The total number of fixed telephones reached round 150,000 and for every 100 people there are 5.7 sets of fixed telephones.

The number of mobile phone users totaled 113,000, with 4.3 mobile phones for every 100 people.

An fiber optic network with a total length of 6,557 kilometers has been laid in all 55 counties of Tibet, the last part having been laid in the Ari Prefecture last year.

Cering, a farmer living in the Chamdo Prefecture in eastern Tibet, sold a head of cattle to buy a color TV this year. The small machine is changing the traditional life of Tibetan farmers showing them the colorful outside world.

Currently, 77.7 percent of Tibetans listen to the radio while 76.1 percent watch TV.

Advanced information technologies are used in old temples in Tibet. More than 20 sets of TVs and computers are used to monitor visitors to the Potala Palace.

Tourists now receive video compact disks as tickets in the Zhaxilhunbo Temple in Xigaze, one of the most noble temples in Tibet. People can read the introduction about the temple and its history on computer as well as listen to beautiful Tibetan folk songs.

Long known for its traditional culture and beauty, Tibet is making use of modern technology to communicate and learn about the world as well as share about its own wonders.

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