Network Connected! Fiber Optics Fly into the Deepest Mountains
From the rugged ravines of the Northern Shaanxi Plateau to the rolling Liupan Mountains, the strategically located Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region was once the red revolutionary heartland of China. Today, however, it has become the area with the heaviest poverty alleviation tasks in the country, characterized by deep mountains, sparse populations, scattered households, poor infrastructure, and low communications network coverage. To transform the poverty and isolation of this old revolutionary base area, following the "Village-to-Village Connectivity" project, communications workers have once again set out, launching a universal service campaign to bring broadband networks to even more remote and sparsely populated mountainous regions.
Optical cables are rapidly being deployed to rural households in the mountains, and networks are delivering information into the hands of every farmer. The internet is breathing new life and vitality into this dormant revolutionary region. Information networks are playing an increasingly important role in poverty alleviation: young people are using e-commerce to sell locally produced walnuts to cities, left-behind children are enjoying the same educational resources as their urban counterparts through synchronized online classes, and elderly residents are solving healthcare challenges through telemedicine...
Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology organized a "Information Poverty Alleviation" media research activity. A reporter from People's Posts and Telecommunications News joined the delegation, and over five consecutive days, starting from Tongchuan City in Shaanxi Province, traveled more than 600 kilometers northwest along the Liupan Mountain range, visiting over 10 villages and towns deep in the mountains, passing through Pingliang City in Gansu Province, and finally arriving at Wuzhong City in Ningxia. Following the physical highways to explore the invisible information superhighway, the delegation accompanied construction workers on foot, treading on loess soil and crossing mountains to lay fiber optics to villages with only a dozen or so households. Venturing deep into the mountains and into farmers' homes, they witnessed firsthand the enthusiasm of government and enterprises working together, the eagerness of farmers in the old revolutionary base for information networks, and the importance of these networks in transforming the face of impoverished areas.
"Now when I watch TV, I can watch whatever I want—news if I want news, Qinqiang opera if I want Qinqiang opera. It only costs 15 yuan a month." "Video chatting on my phone is so great—we can see each other, even what's on the table." At the village committee square in Fenghuang Village, Chengguan Town, Jingchuan County, Pingliang City, Gansu Province, farmers were full of praise when talking about broadband.
During the several days of interviews in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region, whether in the fields, orchards, cattle farms, or farmers' homes, "head-down" smartphone users were everywhere. Just a year ago, farmers in these areas couldn't even make phone calls, let alone access the internet—they had to climb to mountain tops to get a signal. Farmers living at the junction of three provinces often had their phones roaming, and being unable to connect to the network or afford mobile service was a common phenomenon.
"Head-down" Users Emerge in Rural Areas
Networks That Are Both Accessible and Affordable
Walking through rural villages, the ubiquitous "head-down" users are perhaps the best testament to the achievements of broadband construction. In Yongxin Village, Liuquan Township, Hongsipu District, Wuzhong City, Ningxia, the reporter met such a group: "Our family set up a WeChat group. We send photos, chat, and video call whenever we want—it's so convenient!" Yongxin Village is a Hui ethnic resettlement village with 910 households. As of last November, internet access was still a distant dream for residents here. Today, the vast majority use smartphones to go online, and homes are equipped with broadband. The arrival of the network has given these newly resettled villagers a new bond to their homeland.
It's not just about accessibility—it's also about affordability. At the China Telecom broadband consultation desk in Zhaiwan Village, Anguo Town, Kongtong District, Pingliang City, the reporter saw a bustling crowd. Villagers can get 1GB of data, 1,000 minutes of calls, and 50M fiber broadband, plus HD TV, for less than 100 yuan per month. In some villages in Wuzhong City and Guyuan City, Ningxia, slogans like "Fiber broadband for less than one yuan a day" were everywhere. To give villagers peace of mind, operators have also introduced low-cost high-data-volume packages and family sharing plans, allowing villagers to share unused data with family members.
To further lower the barrier to internet access and address the issue of farmers who don't own computers or know how to use them, operators set up WiFi for villagers free of charge when activating broadband. The reporter observed that many households' optical network terminals (ONTs) also function as wireless routers, truly achieving "one household connected, the whole family benefits." Meanwhile, telecom operators have deployed numerous free WiFi hotspots in rural areas. At the health clinic in Jiaju Village, Kongtong Town, Pingliang City, Gansu Province, a sign reading "China Telecom WiFi Covered" hung on the doorframe. In Jiaju Village, with only a dozen or so households, there are three such WiFi hotspots. More than 300 kilometers away, in Xinhe Village, Chenjin Township, Longde County, Guyuan City, Ningxia, a sign reading "China Mobile WiFi Covered" was posted on a wall in the village square.
In the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region, broadband coverage is spreading like wildfire. At the Broadband Universal Service Promotion Office in Pingliang City, Gansu Province, a whiteboard tracking construction progress bore the marks of countless revisions. Zhang Xiaogang, director of the Pingliang City Cyberspace Affairs Office responsible for broadband promotion, told the reporter that the broadband access rate for administrative villages in the city has risen from 24% in 2015 to the current 83%.
Across Gansu Province and the entire Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region, more and more cities are following Pingliang's example—areas that once had extremely low broadband coverage are now seeing rapid improvements in network access after universal service efforts. Zhao Weidong, director of the Gansu Provincial Communications Administration, revealed to the reporter that in 2014, Gansu Province ranked last in the country for rural broadband coverage. This year, however, the province is expected to achieve broadband access for over 95% of its administrative villages.
Government Leadership Ensures Support
Multi-Party Coordination for Rapid Action
Behind the broadband network expansion lies the pioneering spirit and perseverance of communications workers. The Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region is a key focus of the telecommunications universal service pilot program. The two batches of pilot cities cover 23 of the 29 prefectures (cities, prefectures) across the three provinces (regions). However, these areas feature complex terrain, dispersed populations, and routes that pass through mountainous and forested regions—long-standing "tough nuts" in communications construction. Responsibility weighs on their shoulders, and mission is in their hearts. On this barren land, a multi-party coordinated communications construction campaign is underway, with a working mechanism of "government leading for support, enterprises implementing for construction" taking shape. Through coordination by local communications regulatory authorities, governments at all levels have incorporated the telecommunications universal service project into urban and rural development plans, treating broadband access for administrative villages as a key livelihood project.
The Shaanxi Provincial Communications Administration has closely integrated rural informatization infrastructure construction with "information poverty alleviation" efforts, implementing a series of major projects including the "Village Connectivity Project," "Broadband Rural" pilot projects, mobile internet poverty alleviation applications, and rural telecommunications universal service pilot programs. The Gansu Provincial Communications Administration has proactively aligned the telecommunications universal service construction goals with the government's targeted poverty alleviation plan, promoting provincial government documents that define phased tasks and medium-to-long-term goals for rural broadband development, and proposing more than 20 safeguard measures covering land acquisition, site selection, electricity supply, community access, base station environmental assessment, and construction compensation.
In Pingliang City, the government established a leading group, holding promotion and mobilization meetings at the city, county, township, and village levels to coordinate efforts on power infrastructure, land acquisition, and construction compensation, pooling resources for construction. In Tongchuan City, the government has made poverty alleviation its "No. 1 Project" and treats e-commerce poverty alleviation as a key lever for information poverty alleviation, launching a coordinated "combination punch." In Tailian Village, Liancai Town, Longde County, Guyuan City, Ningxia, the village party secretary said excitedly: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime good policy. My family now has internet, and everyone says it's great." When faced with issues such as villagers' resistance to construction, the village committee actively communicated with residents, encouraging some to take the lead as role models and helping everyone understand the benefits of broadband construction.
Overcoming Difficulties in Construction
Bridging the "Last Mile" of Network Coverage
Towering mountains may block farmers' dreams of getting out, but they cannot stop the progress of the builders.
At the construction site in Zhaiwan Village, Anguo Town, Kongtong District, Pingliang City, Gansu Province, we met Wang Zhiyu, a construction worker. "The hardest part is crossing this ravine," he said, pointing to workers ziplining across a cable in the distance. To lay optical cable to a farmhouse in another valley, workers must traverse an approximately 80-meter steel cable, with a ravine over 100 meters deep below. One misstep could be disastrous. Deep in the mountains, the weather is still cold in early May—even at noon, temperatures don't exceed 5 degrees Celsius, and strong winds make it feel even colder. Workers spend entire days on the cable, afraid to drink water when thirsty and only able to bite into a steamed bun from their packs when hungry...
Due to the deep mountains and sparse population, some areas lack road access entirely, forcing workers to carry equipment on their shoulders up to mountain tops. At a construction site in Longde County, Guyuan City, Ningxia, the reporter saw four workers carrying utility poles along a dirt road less than three meters wide, with a valley over 100 meters deep below. On mountain paths at altitudes exceeding 1,000 meters with slopes approaching 30 degrees, even walking two kilometers empty-handed leaves one breathless—let alone carrying utility poles weighing over 200 jin (100 kg). Workers make at least 20 such trips a day.
The expectations and support of the people have become the driving force for builders to overcome difficulties. "For a whole month, we ate and slept in the village, and the villagers often invited us to their homes for meals!" construction workers from China Mobile Ningxia told the reporter in Tailian Village, Liancai Town, Longde County, Guyuan City, Ningxia. When the network was first connected at the end of last year, villagers rushed to sign up for broadband, and installation staff had to set up about 20 households per day. To ensure villagers could get online as soon as possible, the workers didn't even take a break during the Spring Festival.
Information poverty alleviation is a long-term mission. "4G network coverage and fiber-to-the-home are the foundation for a smooth rural information highway." As Wang Jinpeng, deputy general manager of China Telecom Shaanxi, put it, completing the "last mile" campaign is an unshirkable responsibility for basic telecommunications enterprises.
Source: Internet article