This is the worldwide industry body responsible for the invention and continued development of WAP technology.

DHL launched a WAP parcel-tracking service last October and says use of this service has grown 50 per cent each month.

Users can access DHLs central web site through any WAP device.

To access the new 28.8kbps data service new and existing Orange customers will need to buy a 299 Nokia cardphone which includes a SIM card and dedicated data number.

For a three-month promotional period Orange Data Access users can use the service at normal Orange data rates. All Orange Data Access calls can be detailed on one bill via Orange TalkShare.

Orange Data Access enables allows customers to send and receive emails and faxes and download pages from the Internet or intranet to their laptop at up to three times the current speed (see Sharp End).

For a three-month promotional period Orange Data Access users can use the service at normal Orange data rates. All Orange Data Access calls can be detailed on one bill via Orange TalkShare.

The system called Qdodge.com is an instant pre-pay mobile top up service for customers to buy call time on the four networks.

It is a joint venture between BTCellnets internet division Genie and rok.com a company founded in 1999 to develop pre-pay services. rok.com will be responsible for the funding rollout and management of the website and ATM network infrastructure. Genie is handling the marketing.

As well as being able to buy vouchers for any network over the Internet at Qdodge.com people will also be able to top-up pre-pay phones using the ATMs e-cash facility.

Users order an account card over the internet or from a telephone ordering hot line. When they need a top-up or want to buy other products they insert their card into the ATM and top-up their account by feeding bank notes into the machine for credit and tapping in their mobile number the network they are on and number and value of vouchers they want to purchase. The ATM then prints out a slip of paper with a top-up PIN number for them to key into their handset.

The Qdodge.com ATM network has the ability to turn hard cash into e-cash to make any online purchase said Genie managing director Kent Thexton.

The Qdodge.com ATMs will be ready for this in the New Year and after that the rollout will be as fast as e-tailers can sign-up. This means that for the first time people who dont have a debit or credit card have the option to purchase online. Were taking e-commerce to the mass market.

The ATM network will be available throughout the UK in locations where customers cannot currently buy pre-pay mobile phone vouchers for example train stations leisure centres clubs pubs universities and motorway service areas.

Qdodge.com is being developed with rok.com. Customers will also get free complementary services over the Qdodge.com web site. They will be able to download ring tones send SMS text messages via Genie to any mobile phone download logos onto their phone screen and send online postcards.

Shortly after launch customers will also be able to check the history of their airtime purchases and over time upgrade their handsets.

Added Thexton:

Qdodge.com offers real benefits from day one by tapping into the fastest growth sector the telecoms market has ever seen. Pre-pay top-ups for the next calendar year alone will be valued in excess of 3 billion.

For the first time pre-pay mobile phone users will have the option to top up their vouchers 24-hours-a-day seven days-a-week and in ways and in locations that they have never been able to online and through a network of ATMs.

Qdodge.com is a clear demonstration of Genies commitment to bringing mobile phones and the Internet together in new ways. Qdodge.com fits well with our service portfolio and we see every Qdodge.com visitor as a potential visitor to Genie.

Paul Seed (18) faces 20 robbery charges and one of indecent assault. The others cannot be named as they are under 18.

The offences were committed on trains between Waterloo and Gillingham Sittingbourne and Herne Hill and Chessington and Vauxhall earlier this year.

They demanded passengers hand over their mobile phones.

Nokia has delivered around 50 GPORS networks to operators in Europe Asia China and the USA.

The summer promotion which runs until the end of September gives the customers of participating dealers the chance to win a Mazda MX-5 when they buy a Motorola phone with any Orange connection or upgrade.

Dealers also have the opportunity to win voucher prizes worth thousands of pounds for the most imaginative marketing of the promotion the largest percentage increase in Motorola sales over the promotion period and the highest number of promotional entries.

Mainline is supporting the initiative with a point of sale pack including tent cards posters banners shelf wobblers leaflets and an entry post box. Advertising blocks and a promotional display stand are also available.

This customer promotion will enable our dealers to compete even more effectively in what is traditionally a quiet time for the industry said Mainline MD Andrew Boden.

Based around a cylindrical glass cabinet the Rocket unit features an aluminium base and spun aluminium crown to create a rocket shape.

Standing approximately seven feet high the Rocket contains revolving shelves and is used to display mobile phone handsets and accessories. It has a locking door to aid security. Creation of the crown involved a complex engineering process.

Several of the talk plans get more inclusive minutes with Vodafone 500 Leisure which was previously Leisure 250 and doubles its evening/weekend offering to 500 mins while keeping its monthly line rental at 14.99.

There will be just three daytime rates for Vodafone callers: 34p for Leisure time users 15p for Vodafone 20 and Vodafone 60 (previously Vodafone 50) and 10p for the higher usage options.

Vodafone 50 goes to Vodafone 60 Vodafone 250 goes to Vodafone 350 Vodafone 500 goes to Vodafone 700.

Vodafone contract customers with the exception of Leisure 100 and Leisure 100 Local get daytime Vodafone to Vodafone calls and Voicemail retrieval at just 10p per minute.

The latest reduction in price plans is the second by Vodafone this year and the fifth in three years.

Over the last three years Vodafone says its call costs have reduced 59 per cent.

Our latest tariffs offer the best ever value for customers. We have made the use of mobiles more and more accessible to a greater number of people over the last five years said Vodafone UK chief executive Peter Bamford.

In April 1995 if you had used your phone for an hour a month with 70 per cent of your calls made during daytime hours it would have cost 41.84. You can now do the same for 17.50 said Bamford.

The sale is one of several recent actions the company has taken to focus its resources on its more profitable lower-risk growth businesses said CellStar president and chief operating officer Dale Allardyce.

Growth opportunities in the wireless industry are excellent and CellStar intends to pursue those opportunities that add value to our customers in the areas of wireless product distribution and value-added services worldwide.

CellStars European president Keith Curran added:

We have always had an excellent relationship with The Carphone Warehouse and I am delighted that we have been able to conclude this sale to the mutual satisfaction of both parties.

The Carphone Warehouse has also bought Belgium mobile phone retailer Time and Light SA (TNL) for 1.4 million. The purchase is being made through The Phone House SA the Groups European subsidiary in Belgium.

The Carphone Warehouse currently has 34 stores in Belgium. The new purchase will take this to a total of 42. The new stores are located in the prominent Cora shopping centres in cities across the country. Each will be re-branded The Phone House within six weeks.

The purchase is important to our expansion as Cora shopping centres have previously refused new telecoms entrants. Through the TNL stores we are further strengthening our position and now have a prominent presence all over Belgium in both High Streets and shopping centres said Carphone Warehouse chief executive David Ross.

The last month has demonstrated our expansion plans are on track. We now have 1000 stores in 14 countries all over Europe. The Belgian acquisition complements our recent purchase of stores in France Portugal The Netherlands Poland and Holland and represent another significant development in our European growth strategy.

Ryanairs internet booking service will be exclusively available on Eircells WAP service.

Once customers with a WAP enabled mobile phone have registered with Eircells customer service desk they can reserve seats and pay for flights in one transaction over their mobile phone.

This m-commerce initiative gives further added-value by providing a service which enables Eircell customers to save money on a range of travel options said Dermot Griffin director of business development at Eircell.

Internet bookings currently represent almost 40 per cent of the total bookings taken by Ryanair.

On-line booking is now reckoned to be the fastest growing area of the Ryanair reservations network.