China Unicom plans data network

China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd said on Thursday it is building a nationwide network of Internet data centers, which will be able to host 4 million computer servers.
The move is the latest effort by China Unicom－the country's second-largest telecom carrier by subscribers－to boost its presence in cloud computing as it is eagerly looking for new growth points to shore up its declining revenue.


Lu Yimin, general manager of China Unicom, said the company will step up efforts to build Internet data centers across the country. It is planning to build a key center in each province and multiple small centers in remote regions.


"When completed, the total area of these data centers will exceed 2 million square meters, which will lay down a sound base for the development of cloud computing," Lu added.


The company did not offer a timetable for the project or disclose the investment figure.


Currently, China Unicom is running six key Internet data centers and dozens of smaller centers, which host roughly 1 million servers.


The article transsshipment from China Daily