XINHUA is the official news agency of the People's Republic of China

LHASA (Aug. 12) XINHUA - Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, has linked with the national digital mobile telecom network since the beginning of this month.

China's Ministry of Post and Telecommunications invested 20.3 million yuan (2.45 million US dollars) for the infrastructure construction while the local telecom authorities raised five million yuan for support facilities.

The local global system for mobile communications (GSM) network adopted switching and transmission equipment made by Sweden's Ericsson Corporation.

The initial capacity of the net is designed to provide service for some 20,000 subscribers.

With the six base stations already operational, the net now can serve 4,700 users in downtown Lhasa, the airport and three surrounding countie