Phone subscribers soaring in rural areas of inland China
( 2003-09-22 16:47) (Agencies)
The number of phone subscribers in rural areas in underdeveloped Gansu
Province, northwest China, topped one million at the end of August, a leap from
420,000 in 2000 and 97,000 in 1998, according to the provincial
telecommunication company.
The big increase is attributed to local investment of more than one billion
yuan (some 120 million US dollars) in building electricity grids and the
adoption of preferential policies for telecommunication development in the
countryside in the landlocked province.
So far, telephone service is available in 99.5 percent of towns in Gansu and
70 percent of local villages.
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