The number of third generation (3G) mobile telecommunication users in China tripled year-on-year with the figure reaching 38.64 million by the end of October, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Approximately 25.38 million users were new subscribers in the past year.

The number of 3G users of each of China's top three telecommunication operators, China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom, exceeded 10 million by the end of October, the MIIT data showed Wednesday.

Earlier this month, the ministry said that China aimed to have 150 million 3G mobile users by 2011, while investment in 3G development would hit 400 billion yuan.

The number of mobile phone users were up by 94.83 million to reach 842 million during the Jan-Oct period, while fixed-line subscribers decreased by 13.65 million to about 300 million during the same period, the MIIT said.

China Mobile, with 575 million subscribers as of the end of October, now is the world's largest mobile carrier.

China's telecommunication industry reported 744.8 billion yuan (US$109.53 billion) in revenues during the first ten months of 2010, up 6.6 percent year on year.

Business revenue of mobile telecommunications made up 69.84 percent of the total, while fixed-line revenues accounted for 30.16 percent, dropping 3.2 percentage points year on year, the MIIT said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2010)