At the recent Mobile Internet Forum in Zurich, Switzerland, application developers and content providers met operators and other industry heavyweights to show how to make the mobile phone even more useful and flexible in the future.

Mobile-crazy Japanese and PC-bound Americans are becoming more similar in their mobile habits. Are we seeing the makings of a global mobile culture?

The Athens Games required Olympic efforts from not just athletes. Operators had to do their part to be sure networks would be secure and available for the millions of visitors. It was also the first Olympics where 3G services were in use.

It's been 10 years since the first democratic elections in South Africa. And the wireless world in South Africa has all the reason to join the party. From absolutely nothing it has grown to become one of the most profitable businesses in Africa.

Once upon a time everyone seemed to believe that new technologies would instantly replace all the existing ones. But not in Italy. When TIM launched their combined UMTS/EDGE Turbo service, it was with the ambition to soften the fall from high-speed data to GPRS.

Will wireless video play a genuine role in our lives only in the distant future? Or is quick adoption simply a question of cultural differences and relevant content?

The race is on for the big bucks in mobile music. With the launch of the O2 digital music player the UK is now the world's hotbed for mobile music services. But Chrysalis Mobile Solutions and the experts have totally different visions of the future, particularly when it comes to full music download.

CEO Guy Demuynck of KPN Mobile, VP Mike Short of mmO2 and other Congress players share their views on industry trends and consumer demands. New for the 2004 Congress was the "elevator pitch" where a selected number of companies got to remind operators that there are fresh solutions to old problems.

The busy tone, dropped calls and human mistakes are preventing operators from cashing in on calls that are initiated but never completed. Vodafone in Germany, with 23 million customers, is working strategically to stimulate call completion.