Research undertaken from delegates attending the recent Internet World exhibition at Earls Court apparently revealed that 30 per cent of mobile phone users did not know the difference between WAP and SMS. Only 10 per cent of users surveyed had a WAP-enabled phone.

Eight per cent of people interviewed had heard of WAP but only half knew of them that it would enable a mobile internet connection for users.

Every person in the survey used SMS although 12 per cent were only aware of the service as mobile-to-mobile text messaging.

Slow take-up of WAP in the UK is compounded by consumer fears over high prices of handsets with almost two thirds of users expecting to pay up to 150 for a Web-enabled phone said Roy Smith chief executive at MobileAge Technology.

Shelf-life of WAP phones is also a concern as new generation WAP standards may leave existing users unable to access content in the future without upgrading their handset.

The good news is that health risks however are not a significant factor with only 15 per cent of existing users worried about the potential effects of radiation on their health despite recent reports.

Even within the internet industry WAP and SMS are not well understood. M-commerce will have a greater effect on business and the consumer over the next five years than internet commerce and those in the online industry need to wise up now or miss out on customer demand as it snowballs.

WAP technology is booming overseas but SMS is the biggest mobile communication protocol in the UK at the moment Smith continued.

Companies should grasp the opportunity to target mobile applications at customers on the move now.

We estimate there are half a million WAP handsets in use today in the UK. Companies should also be targeting the other 27 million users with mobile phones capable of receiving SMS messages he said.

Omnipoint is a $600 million network operator which recently merged with North American GSM operator VoiceStream.

Jones has also been a vice president of business development for American Personal Communications (formerly known as Sprint).

Jones is the third American to become managing director of One 2 One.

The first was Jan Peters who joined in 1996 from then One 2 One shareholder Cable& Wireless.

Peters was succeeded two years later by Tim Samples who was seconded in to the network by the other One 2 One owner US West.

The company has temporariloy been in the hands of Deutsche Telekoms Kai Ricke while a more permanent replacement for Samples was found.

One 2 Ones first MD was Richard Goswell who launched the service in 1993. Goswell two years later took up a top Cable & Wireless post in Singapore.

Evidence of suspected end-user piracy at the company was retrieved. It was the first time an Anton Piller raid (which covers software piracy) has been instigated by the BSA in Ireland.

The raid appears to be unconnected with Brightpoints wholesale phone operation but centres on the use of unlicensed software on its computer systems.

A statement from the BSA explained that end user piracy refers to the use of software in greater numbers than is permitted by the licences held by the company or organisation.

The Brightpoint action has been listed for a formal hearing today (June 26).

The company is relocating its distribution operation to Huntingdon having outgrown its current 37500 sq ft. warehouse near Heathrow. It expects to make considerable cost savings as rent and rate costs for Huntingdon are approximately half those of Heathrow.

European Telecom says its UK business now accounts for 70 per cent of sales up from 30 per cent three years ago. The company is also expanding its virtual warehousing operation allowing dealers and retailers to order products electronically.

The rationale behind the relocation to Huntingdon is all about growth both in the market at large and at European Telecom. The Huntingdon site will allow us to increase our focus on winning more major fulfilment contracts in the UK said Mark Jenkins group operations director at European Telecom.

Meanwhile European Telcoms e-Vita electronic pre-pay top up subsidiary has signed a 3.5 million three-year agreement with Austrian network operator One Austria to supply electronic pre-pay vouchers to its 30000-plus customer base.

The deal will see eV1500 terminals installed in around 100 One World centres in Austria. A roll-out to another 2400 independent outlets over the next year is also expected.

Last month e-Vita was selected by Vodafone for trials to enable Vodafone pre-pay customers to credit their phones by swiping a card through e-Vita terminals.

European Telecom is looking to sign further deals with fixed line operators internet and pay-to-view TV services in the UK and Europe.

Edwards has earned a reputation for revitalising and turning around moribund service provision operations.

He has been hired by The Carphone Warehouse to inject some of his special fairy dust into Value Telecom which will be The Carphone Warehouses service provider for a virtual network using One 2 One capacity.

The MDA says 92 per cent of people with mobiles in the the 15-17 age group have used text messaging. The ad campaign will target users in the 23-35 age group.

The fact we have the four most competitive operators working together is a major breakthrough for mobile data and potential text users said MDA chairman Mike Short.

The MDA is keen to promote messages particularly in locations were a voice call could be intrusive. we know what it is like trying to have a private conversation in a public arena.

The MDA is also launching a web site next month www.text.it will provide information on text messaging competitions and community message rooms.

The contract will see all handsets intergated with BAes fixed phones. BAe Systems has also ordered a BTCellnet Link 60 circuit for high-speed GPRS.

BTCellnets objective was to establish a one-business feel across the entire organisation said BTCellnet sales and marketing director Peter Richardson.

BAe Systems has annual sales of more than $19 billion the company employs over 100000 people in nine home markets.

Dataquest says Alcatel shipped more than four million handsets. giving it a 13.4 per cent market share for the first quarter of 2000.

Dataquests May Alert put Alcatel in fifth place in the global cellular market with shipments of nearly five million handsets.

On GSM only Alcatel reached a global market share of 5.5 per cent in the multi-standards cellular market for the first quarter of the year.

Dataquest estimates that the total world-wide market for mobile terminals reached slightly more than 90 million units in the first quarter.

In a few weeks consumers will start to discover our new GSM handsets and WAP across the range. We are confident this will allow us to upgrade our target beyond 20 million Alcatel handsets for 2000 said Jacques Combet president of Alcatels GSM mobile.

Dealers can log on and order from the current range of phones available from Orange or specify point-of-sale material that has been structured and categorised for ease of use.

Dealers enter their specified user name and password and begin purchasing products and services required. They receive electronic confirmation of their order with a follow up call from a member of the Kall sales team.