Well he did when he went to the Carphone Warehouse ball on October 12 along with thousands of other revellers in various stages of Schooldays fancy dress under the strict tutelage of headmaster Dunstone (see inset).

Nokias network operator customers will then be able to brand the services individually.

MMS is already taking the industry by storm said Esa Harju director of strategic marketing for Nokia Networks. Weve already seen strong growth in markets like Italy where in the first two weeks of service more than 180000 MMS messages were sent. We want to see this happen in all markets and with all our customers; this agreement with IMG is just one example of the initiatives we are taking.

Mark Selby head of IMGs mobile division commented: With MMS we see a major opportunity to create rich media services that deliver the emotion of sport. This global project with Nokia provides an ideal opportunity to explore the potential of rich media services with mobile operators.

He added that IMGs analysis of mobile user behaviour patterns indicated that MMS offers a major opportunity for new rich media.

Nokia says the Essential Sports project will enable Nokia and IMG to gather experience in the successful delivery of multi-media content to sports fans.

IMG was founded by Mark McCormack in the early 1960s. The company claims to be the worlds premier sports management and marketing agency with an international staff of more than 2500 across 32 countries. Its television division produces and distributes 6000 hours of programming a year.

In the six months to the end of June there were 415000 new connections.

The proportion of contract customers rose from 28.6 per cent to 31 per cent on the previous 12 months.

Rolling blended ARPU (ie the mix of pre-pay and contract users) increased for a second consecutive quarter. This time it was up from 247 to 252. Annual average revenue from contract users went from 548 in March to 555 in June. The pre-pay average increased from 121 to 122 over the same period.

Text messages and other data services contributed 13.9 per cent of GSM network revenues a growth of 4.3 per cent over the past year.

Over half of our network investment is integrating 2.5G and 3G capabilities. We are on track for our planned 3G launches said Orange chief operating officer Graham Howe.

This year Openwave expects to ship more than 100 million copies of its browser software.

Openwave works with more than 40 handset manufacturer clients and claims it has around 60 per cent market share of all mobile browsers shipped worldwide with 25 per cent market share in Japan 54 per cent in Europe and a massive 97 per cent in the US. Last month Openwave launched its WAP 2.0 browser which will ship on more than 45 handsets.

The coming of WAP 2 technology from Japan to the Americas and to Europe means that developers can create more mobile applications and content that consumers and enterprises want to use said an Openwave Systems spokesman.

Better graphics make it easier for developers to adapt PC-based interfaces to mobile devices and makes Web applications more intuitive to subscribers. Openwaves Mobile Browser is available globally and can be used on all carrier networks using industry standards for mobile data. More than 40 manufacturers around the world currently license the browser.

The O2 service also offers roaming capabilities allowing customers to send messages to Holland Ireland and Germany as well as throughout the UK.

The service comes with value-added services accessible via the O2 internet portal. These let customers store and edit photos adding special effects as well as creating and send messages online.

By bolting on O2 media messaging to their existing tariff customers can reduce the price per message to 28 pence. O2 customers will not pay to receive mutli-media messages.

MMS phones from launch include the Nokia 3510 (receive only) the Sony Ericcson T68i (with camera attachment) and the Nokia 7650.

Available soon will be the Sharp GX1 (exclusive to mmO2) the Nokia 6610 Nokia 7210 Sony Ericsson T300 and Siemens S55.

Our walk out working promise ensures that our customers will be able to use O2 media messaging as soon as they receive their handset said MmO2 chief marketing and data officer Kent Thexton.

O2 media messaging text alerts consisting of photographs and sound clips and covering sport entertainment gossip news travel finance and weather will be available from 15p. A major advertising campaign breaks next month with ads in specialist media and targeted locations to reach the younger consumer.

Called CapitalM8 the service is based on a service called Tune2Radio developed by Rocking Frog the wireless data technology business within BTExact BTs advanced research and technology business.

It works across all networks using SMS WAP and GPRS technology.

The service is split into several categories:

Dedic8 allows users to dedicate a track to a friend who will be alerted to the dedication 15 minutes before the track is played.

PlayM8 allows users to find out the name of both the last track and the track currently playing along with the name of the artists.

RingM8 lets users select and download Capitals top new tracks as ringtones directly from their mobile phone.

Additional services such as gig guides news and alerts for on-air features are also planned.

The interactive service can be used by any SMS or WAP phone but will be maximised for phones with GPRS functionality and an FM Radio such as the Nokia 8310 or 6510.

Nathalie Schwarz director of strategy and development at

Capital Radio said:

These services will add value to the listener experience build loyalty and strengthen Capitals relationship with our audiences.

The personalisation technology creates the ability to profile listener preferences which will provide our advertisers with targeted advertising and marketing opportunities.

Standard call charges apply plus 25p for each CapitalM8 message received and 1.50 for ringtones. The CapitalM8 SMS service is charged at standard rates for texting plus 25p for PlayM8 50p for Dedic8 and a maximum of 2.25 for RingM8.

Denton had been Aerofones external communication consultant for 10 years but following the merger with Stanhope Communication in June 2001 he joined the company on a full-time basis first as deputy group managing director then as business director.

After the merger the board needed additional management strength. That is why I came on board full-time he said. It was always intended that I would be here for 18 months to two years. It is almost 18 months to the day since I joined and it was never my intention to stay any longer. So I am not leaving the company in the traditional sense.

Denton who also organises Apple computer exhibition MacExpo will continue to work as a consultant for the company.

Bob has been with us for more than 10 years and will remain close to the company through the consultancy work he will continue to do for us said managing director Jo Marks.

Marks says the group has already found a replacement but was unwilling to disclose the appointment. She did reveal that the person was already in the mobile industry.

This figure takes the daily average to approximately 45 million compared to 33 million in August 2001 and 18 million in August 2000.

The holiday season along with A-level and GCSE students sharing their exam results contributed to the huge number of text messages sent adds the MDA.

Over 50 million messages sent per day were sent across the networks between August 15 and August 22 an increase of 10% on the daily average.

Augusts figure takes the UK text messaging annual total so far to over 10 billion against a 12-month MDA forecast of 16 billion for 2002.

The initial range comprises two traditional Guinness fascias for the Nokia 3310 3330 3410 and 8310. There are also two Unigrip universal holders featuring a choice of either the Guinness or Harp logo embossed on black leather

The ceremony was held at Call Centre Expo on September 17 at the Birmingham NEC. The mobile virtual network operator beat competition from nine other finalists.