VIAG Interkom is a joint venture of VIAG AG British Telecom and Telenor. It plans to provide high-speed data email chat and information services for both contract and pre-paid customers.

GPRS offers instant packet-switched connections to data networks. In addition to allowing faster and easier internet access this continuous connectivity enables a variety of new applications such as multimedia messaging wireless corporate intranet and any number of monitoring or surveillance applications.

It does this by installing the browsing software in the SIM card rather than in the phones firmware as in WAP.

Virgin Mobile says it will be the first network in the world to offer internet browsing from all its phones.

The secret lies in a new generation of 32k SIM cards from Gemplus Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) Orga Kartensysteme and Schlumberger – who claim to supply around 80 per cent of the worlds SIM card-using mobile phone networks. Richard Williams head of advanced wireless technology at Virgin Mobile said:

By introducing SIM-based browsing we will enable all customers to get onto the internet when they want to wherever they want to. And they wont need to buy an expensive top-of-the-range phone first. This is silicon socialism at its finest.

However SIM-based browsing may not be the breakthrough that Williams hints at.

The idea of using SIM cards to implement WAP isnt new Telenor Mobil and Singapore Telecom deployed it towards the end of last year said Mobile News mobile internet columnist Matthew Haig.

Virgin is promoting their SIM based WAP as a true WAP service. Technically it is as the WAP standard does include the facility to use SMS as the bearer rather than a data channel. But people may not realise that what they are getting isnt the best possible performance and so cause something of a backlash against it. A poor initial experience may well stop them ever trying WAP again. SIM Toolkit based WAP has its place. But users must be made aware that they are getting a lower class of service Haig explained.

There are several differences between a WAP1.1 enabled phone such as the 7110 or Ericsson R320 and a SIM Toolkit capable phone running a SIM WAP application. The main one is that the SIM Toolkit version cant use a TCP/IP data connection. So the browsing has to be done using SMS. This is slow and may not happen in real time. It isnt that unusual to have a few minutes delay between sending an SMS and it being received. Having a lot of people trying to use the new Virgin WAP service may in itself cause delays.

SIM Toolkit WAP is better than no WAP. But is not as good as having a true WAP 1.1 compliant phone. Of course being able to access WAP content using a low-end Motorola rather than a high-end Nokia will bring in a whole new set of potential users though the relatively slow response times may well put them off buying a full-blown WAP enabled handset said Haig.

The figures are based on early industry estimates. The final results are likely to show an even greater total once year end pre-pay figures have been confirmed.

China at around 35 million customers is expected to maintain its position as the largest single GSM market in the world whilst Europe and North America are also experiencing a dramatic pace of expansion. In some markets in the Asia Pacific region the penetration of wireless phones is overtaking that of fixed line phones.

In 1992 there were just 250000 GSM users in the world. Now that market has increased a thousand times to reach 250 million. Which means one in every 25 people in the world have a GSM phone. And yet the pace of growth continues to increase dramatically said GSM Association chairman Michael Stocks.

Market penetration in some developed GSM markets is approaching 70 per cent. Finland and Italy are expected to be the first countries to reach 100 per cent. Industry experts predict one billion world wireless subscribers by 2003 with GSM accounting for two-thirds of the total market.

Across all markets we are witnessing the widespread take-up of a host of GSM value added services beyond voice usage including data and text applications. This demonstrates how GSM is an evolving technology that offers exciting new services and opportunities for subscribers states Stocks. Data sent via wireless could account for 50 per cent of GSM traffic within five years according to the Association.

The network is offering until September 9 a Pay As You Go phone pack to anybody who collects 60 Coca Cola ring pulls and sends them in along with a cheque for 30.

Around 250 million of the promotional One 2 One cans and packs of all varieties of Coca Cola are being produced.

Promotional ring pulls are on single cans and in multipacks.

Equivalent tokens are printed on bottle labels.

Consumers collect the ring pulls and tokens complete an application form and are sent a One 2 One agreement form detailing conditions of service after which they receive their pre-pay pack.

Under-16s can only participate with the written consent of their parent or guardian.

One 2 One is backing the promotion with national outdoor advertising and extensive point of sale activity in supermarkets and other places where Coca Cola is sold.

One 2 One has traditionally held a strong position in the family segment the segment which buys mobile phones with the intention of making significant use of them said One 2 One marketing director Tim Yates.

Research confirmed that the combination of the Coca Cola and One 2 One brands appeal to this segment.

Added Coca Cola marketing director Andrew Harrison:

Coca Cola and One 2 One are sociable brands. Were confident that this promotion will be a big hit with our consumers.

Mmail does not require internet subscription or a PC. Infotouch is an SMS service providing information on everything from flight details to taxi numbers to the Lottery results. This all appears as interactive text-information on the screen of the WAP phone.

The Infotouch and Mmail data services are based on existing SMS text messaging and do not require a WAP handset.

BTCellnet says SMS use has grown phenomenally in the last year with 62 million sent over the BTCellnet network in December alone. The major launch is the availability of the BTCellnets Internet Phone (Nokia 7110 and Motorola P Series) for 129 through selected High Street stores such as The Link and BTCellnets on-line store. Using these handsets subscribers to BTCellnet will be able to access a range of WAP-enabled content from any WAP-enabled web site in the world.

The BTCellnet Internet Phones are backed up by Internet websites from providers including lastminute.com BBC Guardian Unlimited Excite EuropeanInvestor.com MapQuest.com BTPhoneNetUK Yell Search Visa ATM Locator and Popcorn.co.uk from Carlton as well as Genie Internets own content and services

BTCellnet says it is the first network to market a commercial WAP system and claims that Oranges WAP activity doesnt count because it is a closed system only allowing people to browse through the Orange site and its partners.

Orange says the restriction on customers not being able to browse non-associated websites has now been lifted.

BTCellnet says its WAP service could now include text-based information such as stock prices cinema and TV listings news where the nearest Visa ATM is sport news on-line directory enquiries turn-by-turn navigation instructions between cities and postal districts in the UK Yellow Pages search and flight bookings.

WAP based e-mail comes as standard through Genie Internet. Customers register at the Genie Internet site (www.genie.co.uk) to set up the e-mail service.

The anouncements come at a time when BTCellnet claims that its Genie Internet service now has more than 500000 subscribers. They will now be able to access the service on the move.

BTCellnet claims the development means it now has the first working commercial WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) service in the UK. Calls and information retrieval on the BT Cellnet internet phone will be charged at 5p per minute until June 30 after which the normal post-pay tariffs will apply.

The Mobile Internet is re-writing the rules for the industry at Internet speeds. BTCellnet is leading the industry by re-focusing itself into three businesses. These are a voice business a data business and a mobile internet business said BTCellnet managing director Peter Erskine.

Around 102 board driectors from the UKs top 500 companies were interviewed. At least 95 per cent have access to e-mail. Eighty per cent have internet acccess. Twenty nine per cent use SMS messaging. At least 78 per cent said they expected advances in mobile comms to improve their comanys profits.

McQueen chief designer for Givenchy has designed a range of mens suits cut to fit the carrying of mobile phones and handsfree cables without disrupting the line.

NEC is calling its DB4000 the most compact design from NECs engineers to date.

The phone weights 99 grams and is 89ccs in size. It features a new SMS facility which allows users to set up their own dictionary of customised words and phrases.

NEC Mobile Phones head of marketing Andy Press said:

With one in two men owning a mobile phone we believe its high time tailors re-evaluated the function of the suit and took a proper acount of todays technology. Mobile phones have become a fashion accessory as well as a vital business and social tool.

We are sure high street designers will adopt the concept for everyones benefit said Press.

Content partners in this trial will be local and global content providers such as Bridge Financial News Reuters VS-Com and Orktopas.

Services to be trialled include access to stock information and indices foreign exchange prices news e-mail and games. The trial will run for three months to develop a deeper understanding of technical and market issues as well as understanding how services can be better tailored and offered to meet the needs of the mobile internet environment.

By combining the internet and mobility the Mobile Information Society will change the way we work and communicate today said Hannu Karavirta MD of Nokia (Malaysia).

The program lets staff connect to the company computer network while they are out to access data such as stock availability order status and customer credit limits and can also enter business transactions to and from mobile phones.

Called Q the 89-gram handset has an integral e-mail client enabling access to regular e-mail services through standard internet e-mail protocols.

Other claimed features apart from access to internet services are dual-band operation 14.4 kbps data and fax predictive text input personal organiser and vibrating alert. Benefon also says the Q is the first WAP phone enabling location-based services through support of the Smart Location Server by Hewlett-Packard. Benefon Q will be available in production quantities in the summer. Developer support for Benefon Q will be provided prior to general availability.