China Telecom is investing several million U.S. dollars into building a 2,300-kilometer-long optical transmission trunk network in east and south China.

China Telecom, which is one of the major telecom operators in China, is building the network to linking seven big cities as an important part of its next-generation network.

The trunk network is composed of two routes. One runs from Shanghai to Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, via Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province. Another runs from Shanghai to Xuzhou, a city in east China's Jiangsu Province, via Chongming Island, Nantong and Lianyungang cities.

It's said that the project will use the equipment and solutions provided by Alcatel Shanghai Bell.

The network will help deal with the increasing demand for Internet Protocol, or IP data services in China.

(CRI.com January 19, 2005)