Ericsson will own the majority share of the new company and will provide its Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) technology to Microsoft and adopt Explorer for future WAP phones.

The joint company will focus on solutions that use Microsoft Windows NT Server and Exchange platforms and Ericssons infrastructure and mobile Internet technologies.

The mobile Internet is part of Ericssons vision of convenient and user- friendly information access and wireless e-mail said Ericsson president Kurt Hellstrom

Bringing together Microsofts strengths in Internet and enterprise messaging software and our leadership as an open communications solutions provider of mobile voice and data will offer tremendous ease of use for consumers all over the world.

Microsoft president Steve Ballmer added:

Mobile Internet access and services are crucial for realizing Microsofts vision of empowering knowledge workers and consumers through software any time anywhere and on any device.

This partnership is a strong confirmation of our commitment to help the industry deploy new mobile products and services worldwide. Microsoft and Ericsson will also collaborate to support WAP and Bluetooth applications.

Nokia will implement Java technology in the Psion EPOC operating system based smart phones and communicators.

The first products to support Java technology will be available next year and will offer additional mobile internet features. Users will be able to retrieve Java applications over the mobile network using WAP.

Woolworths is improving its customer service performance on mobile phones with a new service to give staff access to network information.

Called The Central Hub the service is based in Woolworths distribution centre in Castleton near Rochdale.

Around 30 operators have access to a database of product information made available to 30000 staff in Woolworths 800 British stores.

In the first week of its operation more than 1000 enquiry calls were made by Woolworths staff with 45 per cent of these calls from sales staff needing more information on mobile phones.

Consumers have always found choosing mobile phones confusing and difficult so we are not surprised that such a high proportion of calls have been on the subject said Central Hub general manager Richard Walmsley.

Before information was available on the Hub staff had to rely on finding someone in the store who knew about mobile phone tariffs and networks (see P40).

Orange won the Award for Wildfire the voice-activated service that can take messages place calls and store contact details. WIldfire is a product of US-based Wildfire Communications and claimed to be Europes first intelligent voice-activated mobile phone service.

It was launched by Orange in mid-July following trials with over 5000 Orange customers.

Orange also won the category for Best Use of Company Website Award and was one of only two companies to win two awards and the only company to be nominated for four categories this year.

Orange CEO and group managing director Hans Snook commented:

In the future many services will be operated by spoken commands and keypad entry will seem old-fashioned and cumbersome.

Wildfire is yet another step on the road to Oranges vision of a wirefree future when your voice will be the keyboard and mouse Snook added.

Wildfire has also been activated in France by Bouygues Telecom.

The Awards were presented at the Telecom 99 show which took place in Geneva earlier last month.

It has now been recognised by the independent institute that carried out the tests that their procedures were fatally flawed and led to a wholly inaccurate set of results being obtained said Philips Consumer Communications marketing manager Tim Mashman.

No Philips mobile phone exceeds any international or local radiation standards.

Customers of the banks personalised banking service Open Plan will be able to run their accounts regardless of network by using their phones to dial-up their Internet service provider at their usual call rates.

The first group of customers are to be offered a free Nokia 7110 WAP-compliant phone with one years service contract in return for taking part in a market research programme. They will be able to check balances on all of their Woolwich accounts (including mortgage and unit trusts) move funds between accounts view current and investment account statements pay bills and issue instructions. The knowledge gathered as a result of this exercise will be used in planning the roll-out of the service to all Open Plan customers.

John Stewart group chief executive of The Woolwich commented:

I am delighted that Nokia has chosen us as its partner and Imconfident that our customers will find this service superior to any other mobile phone banking offer that is on the market

CMC has recently moved to become a fixed-line service provider as well as mobile distributor.

The company recently became a reseller for Energis offering least-cost routing to businesses.

The company says it intends to become a total telecoms provider offering all business-related telecoms products.

The African contract is with Mobile Systems International Cellular Investments (MSICI) the holding company behind a number of GSM network operators.

The Spanish agreement is with Airtel Movil whose shareholders including VodafoneAirtouch BT and Banco Central Hispano.

The MSICI agreement requires European Telecom to supply products and a range of integrated services including marketing distribution service repair and consultancy to networks in Malawi Congo Zambia and Gabon.

The Airtel deal is for three years with an option to extend for another two years.

It makes European Telecom the sole provider of pre-pay services for Airtel.

These include quality control re-packaging and despatch of two million handsets a year.

Airtel is the second-largest network operator in Spain and has around 32 per cent of the Spanish market.

These agreements demonstrate European Telecoms position as an international value-added telecoms company and confirm our drive into higher-margin business said European Telecom chairman Warren Hardy.

European Telecoms strategy is to move its sales towards high quality revenue streams with better margins which moves it away from its origins as purely a box-shifting operation.

The aim is to have more than 400 WAP engineers and consultants by the end of this year to kick-start the technology and find applications.

The expertise of the 400 consultants is being promoted in an advertising campaign in seven European countries.

The campaign focuses on banking and finance travel and transport and media and entertainment.

To promote the venture Ericsson has set up a special web site at www.ericsson.com/letswap.

WAP is one of those technologies which quickly captures the markets attention said Ericsson Business consulting vice president Kennet Radne.

Many companies now realise that these technologies are changing the face of the business world in which they operate. They may not understand exactly how and why but they are aware that they need to change and adapt.

The WAP ad campaign runs until December 15 to explain the applications of WAP-enabled mobile phones to businesses.

Security guard Joseph Lawson (20) and unemployed Leroy Semper (23) are charged with forcefully robbing Fuzum Tewende of the phone and his wallet in a burger bar in Victoria station on August 31.