China Telecom has signed agreement with Apple's Chinese partner Guizhou-Cloud Big Data to become the first data storage service provider to local iCloud users in China.

The deal could be one of the largest storage projects of cloud computing, according to China's YNET news website, citing industry insiders.

As Apple's only partner in iCloud business in China, Guizhou-Cloud Big Data will also operate national data center to support iCloud services.

Previously, Chinese iCloud users' data was stored in servers in US's North Carolina.

Apple's data center in China is expected to be operational by early 2020, Guizhou-Cloud Big Data said. During the transition, Guizhou-Cloud Big Data will cooperate with three major domestic operators to service for Apple iCloud by renting cloud.

China Telecom said it would provide high-quality network and data center services, and use its independent development Tianyi Cloud object storage OOS to be used in the following cooperation.

Now, OOS has been upgraded to v6.1 and widely used in more than 20 cities in China. According to China Telecom, OOS v6 can solve some problems in core technologies of network storage, and will create millisecond level experience for iCloud users.

The data center in Southwest China's Guizhou province invested by the US tech giant Apple is scheduled to complete construction in 2020. [Photo/news.gog.cn]