The Tibet Autonomous Region can communicate better with the outside world, thanks to modern communication technology.

Every village in Tibet is now connected to the telephone network, while every county is reached by optical cable.

In recent years, China Telecom and the local authorities have invested 1.5 billion yuan, or US$181 million, to build the infrastructure, including optical cable and satellite communication systems.

Over 600 thousand of the region's 2.7 million people now have phones.

With older technologies, telecommunication services couldn't be widely promoted in Tibet, due to the region's high elevation, harsh natural environment and low population.

(CRI August 4, 2004)