Foreign telecom equipment makers have long waited for China to issue 3G licenses, hoping to win equipment contracts estimated to be worth billions of U.S. dollars. While Chinese equipment makers like Huawei Technologies and ZTE are expected to gain a large portion, if not the majority, of 3G contracts in China, Motorola and other vendors should get a boost from the investment in new networks.

Last week, the China Daily, China's official English-language newspaper, put the value of China's planned investment in 3G networks at 200 billion yuan (US$29.2 billion).