China Telecom Corp Ltd and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd could soon jointly invest in a new content delivery network (CDN) company that would speed up Chinese users' Internet access, a Chinese paper reported on Friday.

The proposed firm would be run by China Telecom's cloud computing subsidiary, according to a 21st Century Business Herald report citing an unnamed senior China Telecom employee.

Rumors of a CDN joint venture between the country's second- and third-largest carriers have existed for more than year.

Telecom and Unicom did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Founded in 2012, Telecom's cloud computing unit released its first cloud-based CDN product late last year, when China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd also marched into the CDN market. 

Earlier this month, Telecom announced a partnership with Akamai Technologies Inc to improve content delivery for its users