In the UK almost 400 million text messages were transmitted during the month. Similar traffic levels to the UK are reported for Italy and France.

The GSM Association now predicts that by December monthly traffic total is expected to reach an astonishing 10 billion messages a month.

Customer demand for SMS messaging is gaining momentum globally. In Australia current usage is running at a level of almost 30 million SMS messages a month. In North America more than 20 million messages are sent and received monthly. In South Africa traffic is currently running at approximately 15 million messages per month. German customers sent and received one billion messages in March.

Over two million are contract customers. The remaining 1.6 million are pre-pay customers. Orange says it has this year captured the largest share of the contract growth and says is now seeing strong growth in pre-pay following the launch of its new Just Talk package.

Orange growth is surging ahead in the run up to Christmas. The rate of new connections has doubled between October and November. By the end of the year market penetration will have reached 40 per cent well ahead of earlier predictions of 35 per cent. Next year will see the beginnings of huge growth in mobile data services including high speed data video telephony telemetry and telematics said Orange CEO Hans Snook.

By 2006 we believe that revenues from mobile data will overtake those of voice.

Orange says it has 25 per cent more base stations than its nearest competitor (ie Vodafone) and 75 per cent more than the weakest (ie One 2 One).

The campaign kicks off with a massive television blitz from this Friday (May 5).

There are three different commercials in the first burst which promotes the theme let the world come to you.

The network last week launched a series of teaser press and poster ads showing arrows and the copy line you are here.

The recipients mobile phone number becomes an e-mail address in the form mobilenumber@winbox.com. Sending this message automatically creates an e-mail box at Winbox.com.

There is no need to pre-register to the service.

The recipient will receive an SMS (short message) on their mobile telling them a message has arrived. They can access their e-mail box from any computer connected to the Internet or any telephone (fixed or mobile) and then use it themselves to exchange fax messages voice mails and e-mails.

This service is independent of the mobile operators so it can be used via any mobile phone. Apart from call charges when listening to voice messages Winbox.com services are accessible free of charge.

By dialling the Winbox.com phone line from a fixed or mobile phone users can listen to a digitised voice reading the incoming e-mail messages.

They can reply directly by recording a voice message that will be sent to their contacts electronic mailbox. Arrival of a new e-mail is done by automatic alert to their mobile phones. Message filtering is possible so that only messages meeting specific conditions are notified by SMS.

The new campaign is timed for the launch of BTCellnets pre-pay WAP phone and uses the copy line Surf the BTCellnet.

The campaign includes TV radio and posters building on the current mobile internet print and poster campaign. It runs over an initial three-month period.

The first Netman commercial is directed by Doug Foster who has directed campaigns for Guinness and Sony Mini Disc which blend digital and traditional filming techniques.

The Netman ad begins with a person logging onto the internet using a BTCellnet WAP mobile phone.

As the surfer connects the viewer enters a cyber world with Netman surfing the internet until he reaches his cyberspace destination.

This is the first time that a UK mobile operator has run a TV advertising campaign solely focusing on the mobile internet.

The campaign mentions a series of BTCellnet firsts in the mobile internet area including the launch of the first mobile ISP Genie Internet and the launch of the first working commercial WAP service in the UK in January 2000.

BTCellnet marketing director Peter Richardson said:

BTCellnet is the market leader in driving the development of the mobile internet. This pioneering campaign signals our ambition to stay out in front.

The 569 package boxes a Nokio 8210 and Psion Revo pocket organiser. The two devices link via infra-red to allow SMS e-mail and internet communications through the Revo. It is being sold by outlets such as The Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U. A special limited edition run of 500 boxes contains 8210 phones with covers designed to appeal to City traders.

4unet which routes calls through the system of American-based internet access provider Call-Net will allow internet users to access the web 24 hours a day with no access or call charges.

Customers are also being offered voice calls at 30 per cent less than standard BT rates for local national and international calls as well as calls to mobile phones.

The only condition is that customers have to subscribe to 4unets discounted telephone service. But there are no conditions minimum usage of contract requirement.

4unet can make a profit from day one and complete with America where free usage is common said Caudwell Group head John Caudwell.

Our service wil revolutionise the industry. 4unet is the future. Other internet service providers will have to follow our lead or go out of business.

This move will double the number of internet users in the UK and triple the amount of time they spend surfing the net each day he said.

The Met says there were more than 140000 accidentally dialled calls to police in the London areas alone last year.

So far this year more than 33000 people mistakenly dialled the emergency services.

The main reasons are keypads being inadvertently pressed.

Now High Street chain The Link has joined with the Association of Chief Police Officers to try and halve the number of these calls from mobiles by producing a guide to remind people to be more aware of the problem and carry their phones more carefully.

The police say the time taken to deal with accidentally-dialled mobile calls means there is sometimes a crucial delay in answering genuine emergency calls.

The Link guide reminds people to avoid keeping their mobile in their back pocket not to keep them in a bag with heavy objects and to try and use phones with sliding fascias which cover the key pad.

Keypad locks are not usually effective as the 999 and 112 emergency number sequences over-ride most locks.

The Link is distributing the guide through its national network of 200 stores.

Our sales staff have been fully trained to answer any questions our customers may have. We hope this will reduce the burden of accidental calls said Link MD Nick WIlkinson.

Under an affinity deal with Ford anyone who buys the new model transit will get the R250.

Specialist Transit dealers will promote the R250 with special point of sale material. and an Ericsson-branded brochure from Ford.

Ford exhibited the R250 on its stand at the Commercial Vehicle Show at the NEC last week.

Called The Football Fone the limited edition dual-band Motorola M3788 will be available for 70 on the Pay-as-You-Talk Allcalls service.

It offers SMS notification of selected match results or goal by goal text messages.

The package includes BBCs Match of the Day magazine six months subscription and a Match Of The Day video.