a network operator in the United Kingdom, found a willing partner in HTC to bridge the network-handset gap. As an ODM supplies of wireless PDAs, HTC had established a relationship with BT, which was eager to demonstrate its leadership in 3G technologies in Europe. In 1998, Chou presented his idea of combining wireless and computing technologies together for the 2.5G mobile phones to BT. It was a fresh idea to BT, which had already spent over US$3 billion on 2.5G and 3G technologies but had yet to make any major breakthroughs. BT appreciated the idea of allying with a supplier that was adept at wireless data tranmission in order to break the technological barrier and quickly offered HTC a platform to "co-develop" a smartphone.