China plans to invest about USD 18 billion in third-generation (3G) services this year as the country became the home to the largest telephone network in the world, with total number of phone users crossing 1.1 billion, including 800 million mobile users.

China's third-generation (3G) mobile phone service subscribers went up by 40 per cent, totalling 25.2 million subscribers at the end of June, Zhang Feng, an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said today.

China will invest about 120 billion yuan (USD 17.73 billion) in 3G services this year to give it a further boost, Zhang said.

China also crossed the one billion mark in the telephone users, with total numbers of users touching 1.1 billion, including 300 million users of fixed-line phones, Zhang said. The numbers of mobile users crossed 800 million by the end of June, he added.

The 3G services allow for video calls between 3G subscribers, and television and Internet access. It would allow users to make telephone calls, surf the Internet and watch television through a singe cable or wireless entrance.

Zhang said the industry would press ahead with the "Three Networks Integration" programme to meet consumer demand for diverse telecommunication services.