The final figures were released last Friday (July 23).

Ericsson warned in March that profit would fall in the first half. It has also said it expects a drop in 1999 earnings per share from operations hurt by costs for job cuts and new products as well as sliding phone sales.

There is still strong demand for its infrastructure equipment and Ericsson is winning most of the orders for networks based on GPRS the new technology that boosts the capacity and speed in mobile networks.

Two weeks ago Sven-Christer Nilsson was ousted as chief executive because he was too slow to implement Ericssons cost-cutting programme aimed at slashing more than a 10th of its workforce.

Chairman Lars Ramqvist took back the helm fuelling concern that a turnaround in Ericsson earnings wouldnt come soon and prompting analysts to cut their estimates.

For too long the growth of the European paging industry has been inhibited by internal wrangling said ERMES MoU Association chairman Zsolt Pakozdy.

With its two main bodies united technical developments can be implemented more quickly and stronger marketing initiatives can be undertaken. I expect it to have a significant effect on the growth of paging in the coming year Pakozdy said.

EPPA chairman Jacques Couvas said the merger of the two rival groups would take paging markets forward by introducing the services needed to attract new customers and maintain the current user base.

Wimbledon-based dealership DVH which trades under the Straightalk name is sponsoring British karate expert Paul McManus at the World Karate Championships in Philadelphia next week. McManus the third Dan Black Belt will be defending his world Championship title for Weapons Forms against 30 rivals.

This boosts the companys total accommodation by 22000 square feet to a total of 43000 square feet and will house a new 180 bench repair workshop customer care finance human resources administration logistics parts and a new training department.

Existing premises in Moxon Street Barnet will now be the processing sales and distribution base.

Intec was set up four years ago with 25 staff. It now has nearly 200 and is planning to double this within the next 12 months. It is now processing over 25000 handsets a month for most of the major UK mobile phone dealerships

Intec is projecting the processing of between 60000 to 80000 handsets a month within the 18 months said Intec founder Harry Ramis.

As the pre-pay phone market also continues to expand preparations for post-sales services by dealers is proving more crucial as disappointed new owners of handsets will naturally expect them to be repaired as quickly as possible.

The call was made at Siemens UK research and development centre Roke Manor Research.

CDMA is to be established as a worldwide standard for third generation phone also known as the IMT-2000 UMTS standard.

Roke Manor was originally set up in 1956 and is now owned by Siemens. It employs more than 300 engineers.

Siemens is currently working with NEC to develop UMTS predicts. The two organisations have set up a joint venture called Mobisphere to develop infrastructure and handsets for the next generation.

Siemens says that over the short term third-generation mobile phones will not replace all existing networks.

Instead the initial phase will be marked by a smooth transition from todays GSM networks to the new technology.

Siemens predicts that 3G networks will be first established in city centres with high subscriber numbers and usage density.

The existing GSM networks will continue to complement the mobile communications provision for a transitional period of five to seven years as far as coverage and voice services are concerned Siemens predicts.

Siemens and NEC are already supplying a UMTS system to Manx telecom which plans to launch early next year.

This follows the decision by the Isle of Man government to allow Manx Telecom to have a 3G licence for the island. Initial Manx 3G handsets will use NEC handsets that offer WAP and an image viewer with a two-inch display.

Thats the promise from an Intranet internet and wireless company company called RTS Networks which has invented out a way of combining mapping and routing software to work on any WAP-enabled mobile phone.

The Route WAP feature lets users pick an address through their WAP phone. The screen then displays turn-by-turn driving directions .

It is not a satellite navigation system and cannot show the users location.

But it can advise on the best route to take.

Route WAP is ideal for delivery of information and for workers that spend time travelling and visiting customer sites said RTS WAP consultant Brendan Yam.

Because Route WAP taps into a core business application Microsoft Outlook used by thousands of medium to large scale business the installation of this tool for use will require little customization.

RTS offers consultancy services and tailor-made WAP solutions for major clients such as Motorola Tesco Sony Nokia and even the United States National Guard.

This follows an agreement with Cambridge Silicon Radio to use the Cambridge BlueCore Bluetooth chip for use with cordless headsets and data transmissions between the phone and notebook and desktop PCs.

A low-cost small single chip solution is essential if Bluetooth is to be adapted an a mass scale said Alcatel marketing director Laurent

Guyot.

Bluetooth is the code-name for the technology that uses short-range radio links between mobile PCs mobile phones and other portable devices (see Alcatel story P34).

The new service uses SMS to flash members messages about how their bids are progressing.

Users will be sent messages throughout an online auction. The SMS will tell them if they have met the reserve price when they have been outbid and if they win. All without them having to log on using their PC.

This is the first step towards a true mobile auctioneer. For the first time members can track the status of their bids or hear about the latest auction bargains independent of their PCs said QXL.com chief executive Jim Rose.

QXL.com runs business and consumer auctions 24 hours a day in nine languages and currencies.

Iobox was launched two years ago in Finland and now has 500000 users who access its WAP and SMS content. Services include e-mail mobile chat instant messaging news weather and stock quotes.

Gaming machine management company Leisuredata will be beaming to WAP phones financial statistics about the performance of a pubs fruit machine or any other type of coin-operated game.

Leisure data provides a gaming machine management service over the internet to more than 10000 games machines.

The system monitors records and audits the takings of each machine in real time. So pub landlords will be able to use a WAP phone to know when to empty the machines and use the money as change.

The system can also send out an automatic e-mail or SMS to the pub landlord if a machine is tampered with or needs servicing.

The company says that on average a gaming or quiz machine can contribute up to 30 per cent of a pubs profits. The countrys 10000 pub game machines contribute overall 35 million a year to the pub sector.

Our network suppliers currently present collection data to us using the web But thanks to WAP technology they can now also send it instantly from any location through their mobile phone said Leisuredata managing director Brian Herrick.

By using the latest mobile internet and phone capability WAP will access vital information from the heart of each machine and put it directly into the hands of brewery or pub chain managers around the UK Pub managers can see the coins gong in and out of the gaming machines live via internet browsers and through their WAP phones he added.

Using the web they can now operate on a level playing field with the larger companies.

It claims it is the lightest slimmest WAP phone so far available. It is 15mm thick and comes in blue red and purple colours. The R230 will be available from next month.