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.

CMC was listed in 46th spot in a Sunday Times Top 100 league table of super-fast-growing companies for achieving annual compound sales growth of 92 per cent between 1996 and 1999.

The Sunday Times singled out CMCs Mobile Alliance programme as a pioneering initiative giving a powerful voice for independents in the market place.

To make it onto the list two years running is a great credit to everyone connected with CMC said founder and managing director Geoff Walters.

To finish in the top 10 retail league is a double whammy.

The review of the top 100 companies said that CMC had done well to protect its position in a crowded marketplace noting selling phones and airtime to smaller dealers it has created the Mobile Alliance a force of 150 independent dealers determined to act together to compete against industry heavyweights.

We are also intent on building the companys reputation in e-comerce and the past year has seen us establish working relationships with financial websites Walters added.

The company is using local radio and press ads in the region to attract job-hunters.

MPRC currently employs 230 staff mostly in the Newcastle-under-Lyme region. It repairs cell phones pagers RF equipment and engine management units.

Around half a million phones a year are repaired by the company.

This is fantastic news for the local area. The company has made positive steps forward and the success we have achieved has resulted in this latest recruitment drive said MPRC managing director Steve Cuthbert.

Its growth is part of a general 60 million period of expansion for the Caudwell Group.

The Group last month announced it would be opening 200 new Phones 4U shops setting up a call centre and expanding the warehouse for its equipment division 20:20 Logistics by 200000 square feet.

The tariff means customers can send as many text messages as they like instead of having to pay the fee of 10p a message charged on other networks and tariffs.

The package is available online from Genies mobile e-store.

Customers can choose from an NEC DB4000 ( 69.99) Siemens C35 ( 69.99) or a Nokia 7110 ( 169.99).

Genie planned to bring out the all-inclusive SMS deal in three months but decided that SMS usage was growing so rapidly that a Christmas deal would be better.

Retailers should have the freedom to walk in to our store and purchase exactly what they want quickly and without fuss said TAP marketing director Afzal Chaudhary.

We wanted to create something to make customers lives easier. Ordering over the phone can at times be inconvenient for traditional tradesman.

This is particularly due to the next day delivery system which isnt always practical if one unexpectedly runs out of stock. It can also be a problem if the trader wishes to view the products before they buy said Chaudhary.

The aim is to ensure traders can simply go to the Trade Centre and buy their stock immediately.

Traders will also be able to obtain up to date information on the current market place via our fully-trained sales team.

This is one of the first stores of its kind allowing customers to impulse buy without any delays.

Prices for WAP phones start from 19.99 (contract) and 89.99 (prepay).

The Sony Z5 is being sold on contract for 129.99. The Motorola v100 Pagewriter (which features a mini-Qwerty keyboard for easy text messaging) on Pay As You Go is 149.99 the pre-pay Motorola V50 is 149.99.

Samsungs SGH-M100 MP3 mobile which allows music to be uploaded from the internet or copied across from CD is priced at 199.99 (with contract).

One 2 One marketing director Tim Yates said:

We recognise that the market is partly driven by consumer demand for the latest handsets. One 2 Ones extended range has been designed to accommodate everyone from the occasional user to the most ardent gadget freak at prices to suit all pockets.

One 2 One says its total customer base as at 30 September was 7124000 representing a 20.7 per cent market share. Pre-pay base is 5.2 million customers 73 per cent of the total base.

There is no truth whatsoever in any of the rumours said marketing PR manager Neil Bent who does admit that Deutsche Telecom is looking at all the options.

No decision has been made at any level. Its just lazy (Sunday newspaper) journalists looking for a new story. We spent a lot of money this year changing the pre-pay Up 2 You and More 2 Say brands into a single One 2 One Pay As You Go so that the main One 2 One brand would be stronger. We certainly wouldnt have done that if we intended to rename the whole company tomorrow. Part of the reason Deutsche Telecom bought One 2 One was because it was a strong brand and since then the brand has got stronger still.

In the long term there may be markets where Deutsche Telecom feel the use of the One 2 One brand is inappropriate. But if and when that decision is taken it wont be an easy one to make and it wont happen in the short term.

Sources from within One 2 One say that even if a name change occurred it would be unlikely to cause major problems.

It is feasible for the company name to be changed while still leaving the service branded as One 2 One. Absolutely no decision has been taken but theres plenty of scope to have the service branded as One 2 One on the T-Mobil network. One 2 One to most people is a consumer retail brand and the name of the network or holding company is largely irrelevant said a One 2 One source.

One possibility could be dual branding such as Vodafone has done with networks where they have a majority shareholding without removing the home operators name or brand. One such example is in Greece where the operator Panafon would be renamed Vodafone Panafon.