China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd, the nation's second largest mobile operator, said the number of its third generation (3G) network service subscribers exceeded 100 million as of June.

The company hit the milestone figure in less than four years, as it only got 3G licenses from the government in 2009.

This is rapid growth. It took more than a decade for the company to get 100 million 2G network users.

In a statement to China Daily on Thursday, China Unicom said its 3G user base maintains a high growth rate and the company leads China's 3G market.