Staff Reporter

The total number of chargeable person-to-person text messages sent across the four UK GSM networks in January 2003 totalled 1.65 billion.

Januarys figure takes the daily average to 53 million compared with 45 million in January 2002 and 30 million in January 2001.

This year has already seen text messaging usage soar and daily records broken.

On New Years Day 102 million messages were sent compared with 64 million sent in the previous year. Valentines Day saw 78 million messages sent compared with 57.5 million in 2002.

For the year ahead the MDA forecasts continued growth with text messaging expected to reach 20 billion for 2003. This equates to 55 million messages a day compared with an average of 43 million for 2002.

The MDA has also revealed figures for WAP page impressions for O2 Orange T-Mobile and Vodafone. The number of impressions reached 524 million in January.

The figure is a record total for one month and takes the daily average to 17 million compared with 13.5 million in December and 12 million in November 2002.

The increase on Decembers figure is more than 100 million representing 24 per cent growth.

There is an ever-increasing variety of compelling WAP-based services currently available for the mobile Internet user said the MDA.

Januarys most popular services included ring tones screensavers and downloads with demand for games increasing steadily. In the UK today there are currently more than 25 million mobile Internet-enabled handsets.

The MDA forecasts continued growth and expects WAP page impressions to reach eight billion in 2003.

It says mobile Internet services will continue to increase in popularity with an increasing range of services available to the end user.

It plans to monitor WAP usage monthly and post the results on its website: www.text.it.co.uk.

Vodafone UK customers will now earn two Nectar points for every 1 they spend on Vodafone calls.

Pay-monthly users will receive points based on the total cost of their spend including calls data and the monthly charge when they receive their bill.

Pre-pay customers will receive points when they top up.

This figure represents an annual growth rate of over 100 per cent and is mainly derived from new types of transaction such as pre-paid top-up via automatic teller machines.

Current forms of mobile payments include premium SMS messages which can be reverse-billed or charged to subscribers accounts along with airtime.

These will be followed by prepaid top-up services either direct from linked accounts or from ATM networks.

ARC Group claims that virtual payments are the next generation of mobile payments and will be used for digital content purchased remotely online.

As the retail infrastructure is built out local point of sale payments will begin to develop allowing mobile users to pay for goods and services in retail outlets and at vending machines said Richard Jesty lead author of the report.

The newer generation of ATMs and vending machines will increasingly be able to communicate with mobile phones giving consumers the opportunity to gain access to virtual cash and to build up loyalty bonus points.

This will mean a repositioning of the players in the value chain with mobile network operators forming partnerships with credit companies and banks to offer an integrated package of content and payment facilities.

The exhibition is the work of 22-year-old photographer James Duffy who works at the Pocklington Civic Arts Centre close to Convergent Telecoms Yorkshire headquarters.

The show entitled Faces of Pocklington will feature portraits of the towns residents.

Convergent is giving Duffy the Sharp GX-10 mobile phone and computers on which the images will be shown at the Arts Centres gallery. The exhibition is to start at the beginning of March.

This is an opportunity to support the local community with an initiative that combines art and technology. This exhibition will be the first of its kind said Convergent chief executive Tony Farmer.

Convergent employs more than 240 people. Last year it won the contract to provide mobile telephones for Microsoft UKs 4000 staff. The firms client portfolio already includes Securicor and Colt International.

Codetoys games include the mobile version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?.

In 2001 the companys games brought in revenue from more than 50 million individual paid transactions.

This number more than doubled in 2002 to 100 million individual paid transactions.

Codetoys designs and develops interactive ready-to-play mobile games and services for all types of mobile devices and technologies.

Games are currently offered by more than 50 mobile operators in 40 countries across Europe the Middle East Africa the Americas and Japan.

Other Codetoy titles include Trivial Pursuit Zobmondo! ET and Subbuteo.

This milestone is a sign of the growing maturity of the mobile gaming industry said Codetoys chief Matti Hamalainen.

The mass-market version temporarily code-named SPVx has a different menu structure focused on consumer services such as the Internet games music applications messaging services and Windows Media Player.

The SPVx includes a joystick for gaming and menu navigation and will be offered with accessories such as entertainment memory cards (complete with games songs and video clips) and a camera link cable that gives customers even more flexibility when sending MMS.

Orange will offer special SPV and SPVx retail packs which will include the phone plus specific accessories or accessory discounts for different market segments.

OrangeWorld and worldwide brand executive vice-president Richard Brennan said:

We will not be neglecting the original SPV. We will be announcing new applications further software updates and business-focused accessories including a soft keyboard a Bluetooth solution and a fully integrated car kit.

He is Dave Williams who joins from US company Cingular Wireless where he was vice-president for strategic planning.

Before re-locating to the US in 1996 he had worked for both Orange and Vodafone.

McPherson has more than 15 years experience in telecoms. Before joining Philips Consumer Communications in 1997 he held top positions with Bosch Telecom Talkland and BT Mobile.

He left Philips a few weeks ago after Philips relocated its Europe Middle East and Africa sales and marketing organisation to Paris.

McPherson did not want to relocate and no similar senior role could be found for him in the UK.

McPherson called Phones International chief executive Peter Jones to ask if Jones knew of any opportunities in the industry generally and was invited to take the new post of MD of Data Select.

The Phones International Group has the aspiration to be a big player in the market. It has a very credible management tean sound financial backing and an opportunity to grow over the next 18 months. Its a challenge for me and a chance to contribute to Data Select he said.

What we are putting together is a one-point spot where dealers can get solutions generated within the group he added.

We have a new division called Wireless logic which produces value-added solutions. For example we can offer an e-mail client packaged for xdas and other equipment that offers low-cost solutions for the small and medium-sized enterprise market and which is a good package for dealers to sell.

Phones International Group chairman and CEO Peter Jones said:

We are delighted George has joined the senior management team at a very exciting time in Data Selects development and I have every confidence in his ability to take the business to its next level.

Other Phones International Group MDs are Keith Westcott (Generation Telecom) and John McFarnon (Phones International).

The number of GSM subscribers globally has increased 10-fold since 1997.

The technology is enabled through the SIM card using either SIMToolkit or SIM browser technology.

Users are presented with a special customised menu which can be authenticated using a PIN number.

Payments are made over a direct connection between the banks and clearing houses the transaction server and the operator billing system.

For the mobile payment market to take off all parties involved have to go through a learning curve said Zaryba managing director Geert Hilbrandie.

It is important to start with straightforward payment applications that make sense to both the mobile operator and the user.

In allowing consumers to use their phones to pay their phone bills or for recharging their pre-paid account an operator takes the first step and gains valuable experience.

Subscribers will become familiar with the phone as a payment device and the mobile operator can then move forward with more advanced m-payment services such as third-party and peer-to-peer payments.