European technology W-CDMA promises a flurry of two-way applications, such as video calls, real-time online games and video-conferencing thanks to its fast data transmission speed of 1-2 megabits per second. The speed, which is similar to that of fixed-line broadband, can transmit data equivalent to hundreds of pages of newspaper per second. In comparison, EV-DV is the most advanced technology among U.S.-based Qualcomm offspring and it supports downlink data rates up to 3.1 Mbps, at least theoretically. In the early 2000s, the MIC set up its 3G scheme of permitting two players to start then-promising European technology W-CDMA and the other to stick with EV-DV. After a hard fought three-way competition, SK Telecom and KTF got the W-CDMA license for 1.3 trillion won each and LG Telecom reluctantly accepted the EV-DV license. Releasing the licenses, the MIC set the conditions of rolling out commercial W-CDMA, which was once billed as the future of wireless technology, by the end of 2003 and deploying the pilot run of EV-DV in 2004. In compliance with the guidance, W-CDMA debuted here in December 2003 with much fanfare but it attracted little attention and just a handful of customers have signed up for it thus far due to its bulky mobile handsets and technical glitches. The handset sizes were around 1.5 times bigger than other snazzy phones and there were problems with the andover hitch, the signal disconnection when cell phone owners move from the W-CDMA network to other networks. In this climate, business leader SK Telecom and runner-up player KTF have hesitated to invest heavily in a technology with an uncertain future and this led to the breach of their investment plan last year. But things are changing abruptly in favor of W-CDMA this year. Samsung Electronics, the world third-largest handset maker, released a model that addresses the two problems of W-CDMA last month. Samsung new model, named SCH-120, can smoothly cross over from the W-CDMA network to the nation existing network while maintaining its sleek form. The government allowance of otherwise illegal handset subsidies of up to 40 percent of W-CDMA phone prices will also likely help the service take off this year. SK Telecom and KTF believe that spending on W-CDMA is indispensable to introducing newly emerging 3.5G solutions, called high-speed data packet access (HSDPA), the turbocharger of W-CDMA with a maximum speed of 14.4 Mbps. SK Telecom aims to attract 200,000 clients this year to W-CDMA and KTF is jockeying to sign up 50,000. By contrast, the future of EV-DO rA, sought by LG Telecom, is still not clear as the platform has yet to prove its commercial viability and LG has no plan to spend on it this year.