China has invested 96.1 billion yuan (US$14.13 billion) on 3G technology so far this year, which has fueled the revenue of the telecommunications and personal computer sectors in the tough economic environment, the industry regulator said today.

In the third quarter, Chinese telecommunications carriers invested 19.1 billion yuan on the next-generation mobile networks. By the end of this year, each of them will have 3G signals in more than 300 major cities nationwide, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on its Website.

"The 3G investment has boosted the development of the whole industry, especially laptop and chip sectors, and fueled the country's economy during the global financial crisis," said the ministry in a statement. In January, China issued 3G licenses to three carriers. China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom have invested heavily to construct 3G base stations nationwide.

In the first eight months, mobile communications base station turnover jumped 147.4 percent year-on-year. The laptop turnover grew 32.4 percent year-on-year, compared with the total PC growth of 17.7 percent, according to the ministry.

Through 3G networks, laptop users can access to mobile broadband services.