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The number of China's subscribers to third generation mobile communications (3G) is expected to increase by 30 million a year over the next four years.

Considering 3G's global momentum and the establishment of national standards, the Chinese government is likely to issue its first 3G license this year, according to a report released by the China Center for Information Industry Development (CCID) on Thursday.

The year of 2006 is the initial stage for building 3G networks and users will be mainly in big cities, the report read.

With the spread of 3G network construction, subscribers will grow rapidly over the next four years, it said.

The report predicted that 3G will have 2.12 million users this year in China and the number will hit 120 million in 2010.

As the country's largest mobile communications operator, China Mobile is most likely to get the 3G license based on the European-developed standard. Based on this assumption, the CCID predicted that WCDMA would take the lion's share of the market, estimated to be more than 60 percent, in the early stages.

The proportion will drop gradually to 45 percent in 2010, with the development of subscribers to the other two technologies TD-SCDMA and CDMA 2000, it said.

Though no official statement has been made, it is believed that China will grant its first TD-SCDMA license to China Telecom in mid-2006 and grant other licenses in the next 6 to 12 months.