Tibet to have universal fibre-optical broadband service

Workers lay out facilities for building fibre-optical networks in Medog County. [Photo: China Plus]

China's Tibet Autonomous Region is about to achieve a universal coverage of fibre-optical broadband service ahead of its schedule.

As China further rolled out its universal broadband project, Tibet's broadband service is looking to reach 98% of administrative villages.

With the World Summit on the Information Society Day marked across the globe, fibre-optical broadband has come to a small village in Tibet's Medog County.

33-year-old villager Lhagpa Tsering says the development has changed his life.

"We can now shop online and chat with our relatives via video conferencing. We can also put our stone pots at sale online and learn more things by communicating with outside world."

Villager Lhagpa Tsering (L, 1st) poses for a photo with his family members. [Photo: China Plus]

Medog is China's latest county to be connected to the county's road system.

Squeezing past cliffs and deep valleys, the road connecting Medog with the outside has been dubbed "the road of life and death."

As technician Li Benjun recalls, they faced unimaginable difficulties building broadband network here.

"It rains most of the time during the day. Sometimes, it lasts four to five hours. When it rains, we cannot work due to safety concerns. Also, there are too many leeches, small insects and snakes in the forests, which also affect our progress. But we managed to make it through by working extra hours."

Medog's "road of life and death" [Photo: China Plus]

China started universal broadband pilot projects in 2015, targeting to build broadband facilities in rural and remote areas.

The central government and telecommunication companies have invested over 40 billion yuan in the efforts, benefitting 130,000 villages.

With the third round of the pilot projects unfolding, 5,210 Tibetan villages are expected to be connected to fibre-optical network. That accounts for 98% of all administrative villages in the region.

Tibet Communications Administration chief Genpo Dorji expects broadband to improve people's quality of life.

"When we saw the fibre-optical network completed, we felt what it means to the local people. It is very helpful to farming areas. Farmers and herdsmen can learn a lot of things through the internet."

The village where Lhagpa Tsering lives in Medog [Photo: China Plus]

Meanwhile, officials believe universal access to broadband services will also be conducive to bridging the "digital gap" of the whole country.

As a next step, China will also be focusing on increasing speed and lowering prices of broadband services to boost poverty relief efforts.