To support GPRS Orange will launch handsets with larger screens and data cards which plug directly into laptops. Customers will not have to choose between HSCSD and GPRS. They will simply choose an application which will select the best system for that particular operation.

HSCSD will be available in the next few months and GPRS will be available at the end of the year.

The new GPRS service will be complementary to Oranges Nokia-supplied HSCSD (High-Speed Circuit Switched Data) infrastructure to be released within the next few months.

Nokia will be supplying upgrades to the existing radio and switching network infrastructure covering nearly 7000 sites.

The new deal with Ericsson complements the existing Nokia supplied systems.

GPRSs data rates are variable and dependent upon the levels of network traffic and distance of the user from a cell site.

As a result Orange says the technology is not as effective as HSCSD for supporting real-time applications and that HSCSD provides the customer with a dedicated circuit or circuits providing a predictable data rate of speeds of up to 28.8k with the potential next year to increase the speed to 43k.

Orange thinks GPRS will suit those customers who do not require time-critical services or who wish to send and receive small amounts of data.

ETSI director general Karl Heinz Rosenbrock said:

The Institutes experience with fixed network standardisation makes it an ideal forum for consolidating the broad spectrum of interests associated with mobile commerce. We want to develop a world-wide Mobile Commerce initiative.

Several co-operation agreements have been signed with the UMTS Forum the WAP Forum the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the IPv6 Forum.

ETSI chairman Francisco Da Silva added:

The deployment of Mobile Commerce will be outstanding. Applications will emerge in various areas such as banking financial services security services shopping advertising entertainment customer care information provisioning.

ETSI has 773 members from 52 countries. ETSI produces the telecommunications standards that will be used in Europe and beyond.

The Ready to Go Nokia 7110 will be available from leading stores Lets Talk Phones Person 2 Person Talk To Me Western Cellular Eircom and The Carphone Warehouse.

The retail price of 349 includes the phone charger hands-free kit earpiece and 50 call credit.

Users can scroll and navigate their way through internet style text pages checking out latest movies books share prices news headlines weather reports and even horoscopes.

Eircells mobile internet partners includes Rondomondo Easons ElectricNews.Net Trintech Irish Life & Permanent The Event Guide Esearch Xtravision RTE and NCB and watch out for more in the coming months.

Ireland is a world-leader in terms of WAP development outside of Scandinavia and Japan said Eircell chief executive Stephen Brewer.

This significant development copper fastens Eircells global positioning in terms of mobile internet innovation and reaffirms our commitment to providing both our pre-paid and post-paid customers with the very best of mobile communications services.

From today mobile internet phones will become widely available and even more affordable and Ireland is truly Ready to Go with WAP he added.

Around 750 independent dealers have been invited to attend a full days free product training.

Called the Exchange programme it is designed provide a forum for dealers to express their business demands and issues.

The course covers handsets a market overview demonstrations of product features multimedia and accessories

The promotion which will form a central part of Qualcasts 2 million marketing promotion is being run through BTCellnet and DX Communications.

It includes a phone handsfree kit in-car charger leather case free connection up to 500 minutes of free off-peak calls a month (with other calls from 2p a minute) in return for a 14.99 monthly tariff.

Customers redeem the offer by contacting a BTCellnet call centre. The phone is delivered within two working days.

Around two thirds of the population dont yet own a mobile phone. The package will generate sales across the whole Qualcast brand said Qualcast marketing manager Gary King. Qualcasts lawnmowers cost from 45 to 470.

There are no external operator controls. The radio which can have its transmissions encrypted works from a touch-operated control unit held in the palm of the hand.

A special vehicle adapter means the radio can be hidden in cars and motorcycles where it can eavesdrop in on passengers conversations.

Called the GSM Global Roaming Forum the body is a collaboration between GSM operators and TDMA CDMA and iDEN operators.

The goal is to promote common mobile handsets and interoperable networks so customers can roam from country to country and across digital technologies and frequency bands. The Roaming Forum will operate as a semi-autonomous group within the structure of the GSM Association. It is open to all industry organisations.

We felt it was our responsibility to start the ball rolling said the GSM Associations CEO Robert Conway.

Our greatest contribution is creating seamless international roaming among GSM networks. Its now time for everyone to build on that.

Gregory Williams vice president of SBC Technology Resources (the company that hosted the Roaming Forums inaugural session) was named interim co-chairman. He said:

The time has come to remove the obstacles preventing interoperability among the competing wireless technologies and try to fulfil the promises of our industry.

We have a lot of details to work out. But the main thing is that we are getting a great start.

Said Terry Yen of the CDMA Development Group a consortium of more than 100 companies who promote CDMA:

Despite the past the various technology groups are now getting together to make global inter-standard roaming a reality. The CDG and its member companies look forward to the continued discussions and to further progress in the area of roaming.

Their ambition is to formulate an environment which allows mobile operators financial institutions and other service providers to facilitate secure mobile transactions.

The Big Three now realise consumers confidence to carry out trusted electronic transactions from a personal mobile device is vital if the concept of the mobile internet is ever to succeed.

Ericsson Motorola and Nokia want to develop systems where security and payment services will be built into the handset.

Integrating security and transaction applications on a common core standard will create global mass market for mobile e-business. This will benefit all participants in addition to hundreds of millions of consumers throughout the world said Nokia president Matti Alahuhta.

Said Ericsson marketing boss Jan Ahrenbring:

By 2004 there will be around one billion users of mobile telephony and some 600 million mobile internet subscribers worldwide. The most important thing is to get all these consumers to start using mobile e-commerce as a standard which makes it safe and easy to use.

Motorolas European Middle East and Africa general manager Rick Darnaby added:

Mobile devices will soon play a key role in virtually every aspect of our lives. We want to give consumers the ability to stay securely connected informed and to conduct sensitive and financial transactions anytime and wherever they are.

The campaign which includes a national radio campaign and an in-store information guide has been designed to inform people about the potential of WAP.

We commissioned independent research which showed only four per cent of the UK population understands what WAP stands for said The Carphone Warehouse MD Charles Dunstone.

Theres been a lot of hype about WAP and as with all new technology this hype has been accompanied by confusion and jargon.

Weve launched this campaign to give simple impartial advice on mobile internet services explaining what it can deliver now as well as the services and benefits it will bring in the future.

The Carphone Warehouse mobile internet guide includes information on the technology a glossary of terms examples of the types of services available now and in the future information on products and services and the costs to connect.

By the end of this year we estimate that over 500000 of our customers will be using their mobile phone to access information and services. Weve also invested a significant amount of money into training our sales advisors to ensure that they are equipped to provide the best advice and recommendations said Dunstone.

Thousands of customers will soon be using this technology on a regular basis and this guide provides the basic information they need to get started he added.

The Carphone Warehouse is to reward online customers for purchasing products on its internet site.

E-commerce customers will be given WebRewards points which can be redeemed against products and activities such a Polaroid JoyCams and rock concert tickets to helicopter lessons or even a private island.

The Carphone Warehouse loyalty programme launches in May supported by a consumer advertising campaign. Members earn WebRewards at partner sites simply by clicking on the WebRewards icon at the end of the transaction without leaving the site they are on.

They can also earn rewards for online purchases registrations recommendations completing questionnaires or similar transactions. The rewards are then redeemable at the WebRewards online shop.

WebRewards was set up in the UK last October by entrepreneurs Mark Read and Gary Morrison. It is a subsidiary of WebMiles AG which was founded in Germany in March 1999.

The WebMiles site www.web miles.de has been live since August 1999.

This partnership allows us to continue to provide the best customer service and value for money across all channels including our e-commerce site said The Carphone Warehouse managing director Charles Dunstone.

Partnering with WebRewards is part of our goal to remain at the forefront of web innovation.

The Carphone Warehouse says connections to its website have increased eight times since September.