China Telecom Corp Ltd, the nation’s largest fixed-lined operator, said that it has more than 2 million broadband users in China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

It took a decade for the company to achieve that figure, the company said in a statement.

The company invested 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in the region in the past 10 years, with a broadband coverage of 70 percent of the total administrative villages.

At present, the Internet penetration rate in Xinjiang is over 40 percent, ranking ninth among the nation’s municipalities, provinces and autonomous regions.

During China’s 12th Five Year Plan (2011-15), China Telecom is scheduled to invest 20 billion yuan in Xinjiang’s broadband network projects, the company said.