Telecoms feeling buoyant again

Vodafone has once again become the most valuable company in the UK, as measured by market capitalisation.

It has over-taken oil company BP and bank HSBC to take the top spot for the first time since January 2002. Its shares have risen 22 per cent over the past 12 months.

Yesterday saw a more general rally in telecoms stocks share prices, to a large part driven by favourable sales reports and capital expenditure plans.

Mobile equipment giant Nokia raised its fourth quarter profit and revenue forecasts, despite recently vowing to cut back on some of its statements inbetween official quarterly results filings.

Its shares closed up 12.6 per cent after reporting profits are likely to be up on revenues unchanged at around €8.8bn.

The rosy statement also pulled up other equipment companies in the sector.

Meanwhile in the US, an announcement by Verizon Wireless that it will spend $1bn on its nationwide cellular broadband service - based on the CDMA2000 1x EV-DO standard - was greeted positively.

The news will go down well with Qualcomm, the creator of the EV-DO standard, and do much to dispel long-running rumours that Verizon Wireless - 45 per cent-owned by the UK's Vodafone - might eventually move to the W-CDMA third-generation standard around three-quarters of mobile operators around the world are expected to end up using.