Beijing's communications sector saw a sharp surge in business in April as residents turned to telephones and the Internet to keep in touch during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, Beijing Youth Daily reported Tuesday.
Local telephone business volume in Beijing rose 60 percent over March while long-distance telephone operations increased by 50 percent, said the Beijing Communications Corporation.
The corporation said Internet services had also reported a 40 percent jump in April while the demand for television and telephone meetings had increased fairly fast since SARS hit Beijing.
The newspaper said increasing numbers of companies had restricted staff business trips and turned to telephone and the Internet to carry out their business, which greatly stimulated the sharp rise in the communications business.
Long-distance telephone calls in Beijing used to peak from 8:00p.m. to 10:00 p.m., but the period had moved to 9:00 a.m. to 11:00a.m. amid the SARS outbreak.
Meanwhile, more residents in Beijing have asked Internet service providers to open broadband network services as they stay indoors more.
(Xinhua News Agency May 13, 2003)
