Staff Reporter

Boase founded one of the UKs leading advertising agencies Boase Massimi Pollitt in 1968 which was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1983.

He was chairman of the Advertising Association from 1987 to 1992 and is currently chairman of outdoor advertising company The Maiden Group Heals The Investment Trust of Investment Trusts and Jupiter Dividend and Growth Investment Trust.

Bango.net has also raised 2.8 million from Credit Lyonnais Herald Ventures Close Brothers and ETCapital.

The money will be used to develop technology that makes the mobile internet accessible on mobile devices and to accelerate sales to content providers in key growth areas.

The mobile internet will prove to be an exciting area for media players and content providers because it provides greater interactivity and a more flexible charging model than that currently provided by other forms of online marketing such as SMS text messaging said Boase.

Bango.net works with network operators such as Telefonica BTCellnet KPN and Mitsubishi while Bango technology helps content providers world-wide to promote their services.

The company says over 30 portals and mobile operators provide Bango services to over 20 million users world-wide.

GFKs findings show Nokia still holds a daunting lead over Siemens with a 55.3 per cent market share. Motorola was third with 6.7 per cent followed by Samsung (6.6 per cent) and Sony Ericsson (6.2 per cent).

Siemens UK managing director for mobile devices Jonathan Bate said the company had leapfrogged Motorola Sony Ericsson and Samsung to attain second position. Siemens wants a 15 per cent market share by the Autumn.

We sold 850000 phones over Christmas. That means one in eight phones sold was a Siemens. Everyone else lost market share over Christmas but Siemens gained significantly he said.

We achieved this with a plan that was implemented over the past nine months with all our major customers. We have a whole portfolio of products coming out. Our next goal is to reach 15 per cent market share by the end of September. We are selling handsets on all the networks and we have established a great relationship with the retailers and distributors claimed Bate.

The company which is under new management has been in various negotiations to secure new leases for 92 stores. It says it is still on track to open between one and two new stores a week in the lead up to Christmas.

Meanwhile Phones4U has opened a a further three stores: in Cwmbran Colchester and Yeovil.

Adel Radwan (48) was ordered not to go within 50 metres of the shop or try to contact Deirdre John-Baptiste or Natasha Raveneau.

Egyptian-born Radwan is charged with intent to cause John-Baptiste alarm and distress with threatening behaviour at the shop last week. He is also charged with racially-aggravated harassment.

3 intends to invite people who have registered on its website to the opening of its flagship stores in London and Birmingham in the middle of February – the same time as the Cannes show.

The network will be sending delegates to the event but there will be no key presentations given by its personnel and no 3 stand.

The show falls at a time when we are very busy said a 3 spokesman. The week before and after the show we are inviting people to our stores and so we just cant afford to have key people away.

A 3 television advertisement featuring a variety of people trying to describe a goal scored by Liverpool ace Michael Owen was awarded ad of the week by advertising trade magazine Campaign last week.

The advertisement unveils 3s Premier League highlights package and aired on Monday January 13.

3 has dismisssed newspaper reports that it has attracted 30000 pre-registrations from its website although 3 agrees registrations are into five figures.

Manpower said the survey results showed that telecommunications is expecting its worst employment prospects since 1996.

Net job gains are down from a year ago due to lay-offs and a trend towards sub-contracting labour.

Fone Range went into administration last April after selling the Fone Range band to Elite Mobile Accessories.

It blamed its failure on increased margin pressure in combination with high levels of fixed overheads.

Fone Range founders Jay and Vimal Pau are now operating through another company called Blue-I.

Fone Range administrators Levy Gee says 21504 was raised from a sale of remaining Fone Range stock.

A total of 13565 has been collected from trade debtors and 80000 has come in from the joint venture Fone Range Ireland.

Blue-I has since made two payments totalling 30000 and 9278 VAT refund has been obtained. A corporation tax refund is also on the cards. Creditors will soon decide to accept a voluntary arrangement for partial payment of their debts or have the company put into liquidation.

The Korean electronics giant plans to sell four million of the 1.8 inch small and mid-sized colour screens this year.The screens produce over four thousand colours and can precisely reproduce moving images.

Handsets with colour displays made up 12 per cent of the handset market last year says Samsung.

This says Samsung is set to rise to 60 per cent of the market.

Pumfrey was at the network for four years and introduced Orange pre-pay to the high street.

Ex-Dolphin Telecom logistics and distribution account director Deborah Pope has also joined Unique to work on new areas of business.

Pope has worked in the mobile communications industry since 1985.

This is double the amount sent the same time a year ago.

The MDA says 38 million text messages are now sent every day compared with 21 million a day last year.