KT Corp. and SK Telecom Co. said they can shrink the amount of initial network investment and operation fees with their latest cloud-based long term evolution (LTE) technology, the fourth-generation (4G) high-speed mobile Internet standard.

Their LTE technologies are based on cloud computing, which provides computing over the Web and enables operators to adjust radio resources remotely. The Korean wireless operators are hoping to drum up attention during the four-day Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which starts on Monday.

The wireless industry is under more pressure than ever before to cut operation costs and to deal with data traffic explosion, as their traditional revenues from voice calls decline while the current third-generation (3G) networks are quickly bursting at the seams with data-gobbling smartphone users. But exorbitant costs of network investment and relatively small investment returns have

emerged as bottlenecks.

KT teamed up with Samsung Electronics Co. and Intel Corp. for LTE cloud communication center (CCC) technology, which allows operators to relocate radio resources to deal with a sudden surge in data traffic. KT, South Korea's largest telecom company and the No. 2 wireless operator, plans to begin LTE service in Seoul next year.

SK Telecom, the country's top mobile carrier, is scheduled to showcase a similar cloud-based LTE technology aimed at maximizing network performance during the trade show. The company, which picked Samsung, LG-Ericsson Co. and Nokia Siemens Networks B.V. as LTE equipment suppliers, plans to offer commercial LTE service in Seoul starting in July.

Research firm iSuppli estimates that LTE subscribers will reach 10.4 million this year and grow to 303.1 million by 2014 as mobile carriers, including AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless in the United States, see the high-speed mobile Internet as a solution. An estimated 10 LTE operators worldwide have launched to date, and more than 30 new operators will start LTE services this year, the research firm said.