China’s three telecommunications network operators are primed to increase spending on wireless infrastructure after Beijing announced Friday that it would award 4G mobile licenses in the 4th quarter, South China Morning Post reported. China Unicom, China Telecom and China Mobile are predicted to spend US$11.2 billion next year on wireless infrastructure, an increase from this year’s US$10 billion, according to a report by market research firm IHS. The State Council’s announcement said the government would hasten plans to upgrade the nation’s telecommunications and internet infrastructure as the mainland’s 4G subscribers are expected to reach 439 million by 2017.