China market: 3G carriers invested over 160 billion in infrastructure in 2009, says MIIT

China Mobile Communications, China Telecom and China United Telecommunications, the three operators of 3G mobile communication service in the China market, made direct investment totaling 160.9 billion yuan (US$23.6 billion) in 3G infrastructure construction in 2009, including the completion of 325,000 base stations in total, according to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

The carriers' investment is estimated to have resulted in related domestic investment of nearly 589.0 billion yuan, plus an increase in GDP by 34.3 billion yuan, direct consumption worth 36.4 billion yuan, and the creation of 260,000 new jobs, the MIIT said.