A massive switch to new telephone numbers in 21 counties will cause mayhem, the Small Firms Association has claimed.

A new survey shows consumers are unaware of the high cost of using mobile phones while abroad.

The Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation has announced that 3 companies, including Hutchison Whampoa, have applied for Ireland's 3G mobile licences.

Vodafone and T-Mobile announced at CeBIT that they are teaming up to offer "mobile wallets" to customers in an initial roll-out through the UK and Germany by the end of the year.

The ODTR has released its quarterly review for October 1 to December 31 2001, finding that mobile penetration rate has reached 79% and 1.5 billion SMS messages were sent in 2001.

The ODTR issued a consultation paper on replacing licences which are currently issued for a variety of services with a standard general authorisation.

The regulator is reviewing the current price cap that has applied to a range of services provided by Eircom since January 1, 2000.

The ODTR has announced details of a new and enhanced SMS service which will allow for a range of new mobile services to be offered by both mobile operators and service providers.

The ODTR has launched the competition for the selection of 3G mobile phone licences.

The ODTR yesterday issued a quarterly report for the period July to September, 2001. The report indicates that after three year of the markets being open, one fifth of total turnover is now in the hands of new entrants and prices have fallen substantially.

Communications provider Chorus is applying for a price hike for its basic television service.