BTCellnet will also be launching the first GPRS-based application which will enable mobile access to a corporate network using a portable computer and a mobile phone.

The launch of GPRS is the first stage of the companys roll-out of the new network and will be followed by the launch of services for other market sectors in the coming months.

GPRS will deliver internet applications to mobile devices up to five to ten times faster than currently possible.

Initially aimed at the business community GPRS will support WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) HTML and Microsoft Office. Consumer applications will be rolled-out by the end of 2000.

BTCellnets GPRS core network system is being implemented by Motorola which has supplied the BTCellnet mobile network since 1985.

BTCellnet is also launching the first GPRS application. Aimed at the corporate market the new applications will allow corporate organisations to give their staff mobile always on access to services on a Corporate Intranet including e-mail and schedule applications using a portable computer working with a mobile phone.

Until now these types of services have been delivered via a fixed connection and now GPRS makes it possible to connect to services on the corporate LAN whilst on the move or away from a fixed line.

Peter Richardson sales and marketing director of BTCellnet commented:

The initial corporate customers will be using a single promotional tariff rate. Later BTCellnet will introduce tariffs to meet varying business and consumer needs.

GPRS has been developed alongside BTCellnets existing digital network. It uses the existing radio base stations linked to a new network based on packet technology.

On existing circuit switched networks the user dials the number and the network connects the call. With packet technology the user will log into a data network and then send and receive data as and when required throughout the day.

The GPRS network is only utilised when data is being transmitted but the user retains a virtual connection throughout the day. The user can be always connected.

The service enables stores restaurants hotels and estate agents to send location details to WAP handsets.

Users select a relevant WAP site and enter the postcode of the area in which they wish to search for a list of the nearest branches. A particular branch can be selected with directions on how to reach it and information on opening hours. The service means that outlets can be found quickly and easily while consumers are on the move.

Store Finder on WAP is a natural extension of our web-based Store Finder service commented Multimap.coms managing director Sean Phelan.

The service increases customer retention on the site and is fully customisable. Companies can have their own logo and branding displayed.

Its also easy to implement so businesses dont need to undertake any WAP development themselves.

Users will be able to receive personalised entertainment information and audio over their WAP phones. XY Network will offer WAP users a text-based service although full audio content is available via Genies Entertainment zone or directly via www.xynetwork.com. Full service this summer will offer WAP users full high quality audio content.

Visual content has been configured to fit the screen on a mobile handset and audio content varies in format from easy-to-manage sound bites to full-length tunes book readings or advice.

The service will include a daily soap opera sports news and business channels.

Genie Internet was launched by BTCellnet in March 1999 and now has 750000 registered users.

Somethin Else produces programming for every BBC radio network the countrys ILR stations British Airways in-flight audio plus television for BBC1 and Channel 4.

Paul Bennun Somethin Elses director of Interactive Broadcasting said Weve been waiting for the chance to bring our own vision of interactive radio alive for the past five years. Now the technology is here.

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.