With 80 percent coverage already in place, a mobile
communications network along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway which travels at the
highest elevation in the world will reach 95 percent in the future,
Chinanews.com reported on July 31. The second-stage of the Global
System for Mobile Communications (GSMC) project starts later this
year.
A Damxung herder,
standing along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, called his friend June
25, 2006. Currently, the communication grid has basically covered
all the areas along Qinghai-Tibet Railway.
According to the report, passengers can now send and receive
messages and calls by mobile phones on most sections of the
1,142-km-long railway from Golmud to Lhasa. It is even possible for
the travelers to take pictures with mobile phones and send them to
their relatives and friends.
Zheng Aijun, general manager of the Qinghai Mobile Communication
Co. Ltd. (Qinghai Mobile), said the railway runs across more than
1,400 km in Qinghai provincial territory with a 350-km section at
more than 4,800 meters above sea level. Qinghai Mobile built 18
communication stations along the railway which resulted in the
mobile network covering 80 percent of the Golmud-Tanggula Mountain
Pass section and 95 percent of the Xining-Golmud link.
Zhu Dasun, deputy general manager of the Tibet Mobile
Telecommunications Co. (Tibet Mobile) said his company had built 21
new mobile stations in the Tibet Autonomous Region which raised the total
number to 41. The railway runs across more than 580 km in Tibet
with mobile network covering 85 percent of the area along the
route.
Network benefits travelers and residents
According to the Golmud Mobile Telecommunications Co. (Golmud
Mobile), the designers of the network fully considered the demands
of travelers as well as those living alongside the railway line as
well as the Qinghai-Tibet Highway line.
Railway workers test
radio communications equipment in the Golmud Railway
Station
With the GSMC project covering the route of the Qinghai-Tibet
Railway, it means 80 percent of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway will also
be covered, according to Qinghai Mobile.
Zhang Hailin, a truck driver from the China Tiesiju Civil
Engineering Group Co. Ltd., said his truck sunk deep into mud at
Chaidanyinma Gorge on June 15. Zhang was surprised to find that
what was considered a communications "black spot" had a mobile
signal and he was able to call for assistance.
Currently there are more than 4,000 km of optical cables in
Tibet and access to the mobile network is available along trunk
roads and in major towns and important frontier strongholds,
according to the local government.
Mobile stations in the scenic spots of Nam Co, Yangdork Lake,
Mount Qomolangma and areas along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway provide
convenience not only for travelers but also for local
residents.
Access to telephones is available in 88 percent of villages in
Qinghai Province. To guarantee communications
continuity Qinghai Mobile has employed 100 new network maintenance
personnel.
Second-stage network project to be launched
soon
The mobile network along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was built in
very difficult conditions – high elevation, severe cold and frozen
soil. With the completion of the first-stage GSMC coverage project,
the two mobile companies have planned second-stage tasks. The
problems which require to be solved relate to the width and depth
of network coverage. On width the communications signals must cover
all the areas along the railway and on depth the mobile service
must include various things like access to multimedia messaging
services and general packet radio services.
Construction workers on
a tower frame checking communications equipment in the Golmud
Railway Station.
Maintenance and security of communications facilities are the
two other challenges facing the mobile companies. According to
Tibet Mobile, between March 2005 and April 2006 more than 3,000
pieces of solar equipment and transformers valued at more than 1.5
million yuan (about US$188,000) were stolen.
The reason to use solar equipment as a power source is that high
voltage power along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway simply can't meet the
demand. Although the power source built for railway communications
can meet the demand, China Mobile and railway departments haven't
reached an agreement yet on resource sharing.
Solar equipment is costly but also limited by weather. If it
rains for three days in a row the equipment can't supply power for
mobile stations and communications can't operate normally.
To protect communication facilities, mobile companies must
employ local people to work in shifts. Each station will cost more
than 20,000 yuan (US$2,509) each year to ensure everything is
operating correctly.
Currently, mobile business volume along the Qinghai-Tibet
Railway remains small and won't make profits in the short term.
Coordination and sharing of resources between related departments
seem to be a better approach to ensuring that mobile networks best
serve the people.
(China.org.cn by Li Jingrong, August 4, 2006)
