Up to four people can register for any network against one credit card or debit card. Once registered on the internet customers can thereafter top-up from their phones by sending their password as a text message. fastbeat.com was launched in September to offer the top-up service for Orange Vodafone One 2 One BTCellnet and Virgin Mobile.

We are making online top-ups as widespread as web-based text messaging. This is going to be the big e and m-commerce application of 2001 said fastbeat.com managing director John Lewis. fastbeat claims it offers the same encrypted technical infrastructure that will be used in High Street retail swipe terminals. fastbeats revenues come from gross pre-pay top-up trading margins although it plans to make money from sales of value-added products and third party partnerships.

Having already secured supply from distributors of main mobile phone providers we are in a position to offer the industry a valuable service for their customers enabling users to gain credit speedily and efficiently claimed Lewis.

This means users will be able to use their phones for more applications such as games and will get more security when accessing servers.

The Java platform is already one of the most accepted internet technologies and the new java-enabled Seimens phones will build a mobile world of huge opportunities for users developers and operators said Siemens product marketing manager Georges Boulloy.

Hong Kong-based SmartTone is using Java-enabled Siemens devices to design interactive applications for mobile phones.

Video game publisher THQ is developing games for mobile phones and electronic publisher Route 66 is creating mobile phone applications related to tourism and recreation. Siemens last month announced its new high-end line-up (See P18).

The campaign is the first advertising and brand communication for V Shop since its launch in September as a retail chain specialising in telecommunications media and technology.

The TV ads start tonight (November 27) and feature a motormouth character in a variety of scenarios enthusing about V Shop and all the products on offer.

Ex-PocketPhone Shop owners Simon Jordan and Andrew Briggs were ranked respectively 14 and 44 with earnings of 50.5m and 22.5 million.

Carphone Warehouse chief operating officer David Ross was the countrys 20th highest earner ( 39.7m) with operations director Guy Johnson coming in at number 57 with 17.18m.

Mike McComb who sold his Mobile Phone Store Group to BTCellnet earned 40.26m making him the UKs 20th highest-paid director. Recently retired JWE founder John Weatherill was ranked in 106 place with 9.28m.

The flotation of Project Telecom earned its founder Tim Radford 5.93m.

The Vodafone Group board did well for itself. Vodafone CEO Chris Gent came in as the UKs 140th highest paid person earning 6.36m from salary bonuses and share disposals.

Vodafone financial director Ken Hydon came in at 294th position with 2.7m in shares and salary.

Vodafone Internationals Julian Horn-Smith was 297th with 2.73 million. Vodafones UK head Peter Bamford was ranked at number 336 with a 2.4 million shares and salary package.

Martin Smith of Mobile Telecom came in at number 300 ( 2.67m) followed by PNC Tele.com CEO Geremy Thomas with 2.64m.

Hans Snook who earned millions from the sale of Orange to Mannesmann and France Telecom was not mentioned (see White Lines).

In Ireland the sale of Esat Digifone to BT put the Digifone management team in the realms of the super-rich with Digifone founder Denis OBrien earning 184.39m and MD Barry Maloney collecting 30m.

The service also features Barclays Stockbrokers Price service that identifies the most competitive price available for a trade. Customers will also benefit from a unique switching service giving two deals for the price of one.

Phil Bungey e-commerce Director for Barclays Stockbrokers said:

WAP lends itself extremely well to investing in shares. The technology has the potential to revolutionise online trading and become widely used over the next few years.

Justin Urquhart Stewart director of Barclays Stockbrokers added:

This service shows how WAP can bring real benefits to investors. The service is ideal for busy people and those who are out and about on a regular basis to trade shares in privacy wherever it is convenient for them in a restaurant on the train or even in the street.

Customers with a Portfolio Online account can register their mobile details by clicking www.barclays stockbrokers.co.uk/mobile.

Data revenues are already at an annual running rate of over 1 billion per annum. We are convinced that the new data services and other non voice applications made possible by the faster data rates and greater band width will enable the group to sustain high levels of compound growth for the remainder of the decade

This year has exceeded our expectations and it now looks more likely that penetration rates will exceed 75 per cent in all of our major markets.

Gent continued: While we expect to see another good growth year in the next financial year the emphasis and effort will change towards customer retention and reducing churn for existing operators ahead of the full commercial launch of 3G.

There are no surprises in this except that growth has proved more resilient and penetration rates are heading towards higher levels than were expected in our earlier plans. The advantage of lower percentage growth in customers which is likely to occur in the next couple of years is that the reduced subscriber acquisition costs should create better EBITDA growth provided we can keep churn down.

Our initiatives to reduce churn have resulted in a reduction in the UK from 30 per cent last year to 24 per cent in the first half period.

Vodafone expects to commence the process of building 3G networks starting from the beginning of 2001 and will progressively introduce services as soon as minimum service coverage is achieved in the various countries in which we operate.

Japan and Spain are likely to be the first networks to open in the second half of 2001 to be followed by the UK Germany Italy and several others in 2002 concluded Gent.

This brings the total number of registered customers to 50000 since its launch in July. m-Viva has more than 100 content providers offering a wide range of information e-commerce and other services.

Customers can choose from tariffs offer unmetered WAP and/or text messaging as part of the customers subscription. The network ID (identification on handset screen) will say BT Genie even thought the host network is BTCellnet.

Using the Genie web site customers will be able to pay bills online monitor calls and costs change tariffs and have their queries answered free of charge.

A pre-pay option will be available shortly. A SIM-only offer GPRS tariffs and handsets will be available in early 2001.

Were offering customers all you can eat mobile internet access for just 20 a month. We are cutting out the middleman and passing on cost savings directly said Genie MD Kent Thexton.

Genie claims to have more than two million customers internationally and 1.4 million in the UK.

Lees suffered a stroke that affected his spine and has left him currently paralysed from the chest down. He has been moved to Stoke Mandeville.

Lees partner and co-director Angus Dawe said:

His condition wont affect Unique Distribution. He will be away from the office for about a month or so and we will miss him sitting in on board meetings giving his views and controlling the financial part of the company. Day to day management wont be badly affected. It was always intended that I would have a greater role running Unique and that is how things will carry on. Rob is paralysed badly but remains in full control of all his faculties. His determination and focus are stronger than ever.

Considering his situation he remains incredibly easy to talk to and in good spirits even though he faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in a wheel chair. The stroke has not affected him mentally so he will be able to continue in his role as Joint MD at Unique Distribution.

Rob is hoping to get back to work within in a couple of months and continue to build the business which he jointly founded in November 1999. In the meantime the management team at Unique is ensuring that the ship runs smoothly and Rob has as much time as he needs to recover from this incident.

Rob has requested that sympathisers refrain from sending him chocolates cards or flowers – instead he would prefer even more orders placed with Unique Distribution said Dawe.