A report in The Sunday Times on April 16 said that 3 UK would report losses of up to £1.5 billion when it files its 2004 results at Companies House in the next few weeks. 3 lost £972 million in 2003.
A 3 spokesperson said:
"2004 was the build phase of the business. We needed to compete in a highly competitive market. In December we broke even on earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation. We reached that milestone after just three years. And our ARPU is above average."
James Barford of Enders Analysis claimed in the article that 3´s customer numbers decreased in the second half of 2005 and its acquisition costs increased in the same period. Barford also suggested that 3´s churn has topped 50 per cent.

From June it will offer three- and four-minute match highlight clips on its mobile TV channel an hour after the final whistle. Trial pricing will be £1 a day or £5 a month for unlimited access. Highlights will also be available by video-calling the FIFA World Cup shortcode 2006 for 50p a minute.
A black version of the Samsung E370 handset embossed with a Three Lions´ logo and preloaded with 1966 World Cup video highlights and other content goes on sale on contract and pre-pay next month.
T-Mobile said that 86 per cent of the tickets it is allocated through its sponsorship deal will be made available to fans through marketing and promotions. The remainder will go to hospitality events. Ticket winners will receive free flight transfers and hospitality.
The network has also kitted out a fleet of tour buses to take fans to Germany and will lay on football parties for fans at home. The biggest will take place at Birmingham´s Millennium Point on June 9.
"David Beckham lifting the World Cup on July 8 would be amazing" said T-Mobile UK marketing director Phil Chapman.
"But even if he doesn´t we will have given T-Mobile customers the closest World Cup experience."

The move in-store continues a departure from the company´s online-only focus. easyMobile sales and marketing director Mike Lewis said: "We are extending our choice of payments to customers to give them more flexibility."
To buy their e-vouchers consumers hand over money at the store then receive a number that they then call or text at their leisure to claim call credit.
Lewis added: "The e-vouchers will be rolled out across range of retail outlets within the next few weeks. I am extending our payment methods to give consumers more choice."

The new stores are intended to showcase 3G music games video and user-generated content such as its SeeMeTV service. The stores will feature booths for customers to try content before purchasing it.
A 3 spokesperson said: "We are hitting the high street with a new breed of mobile store. Customers want to see and hear what they can get from 3G phones. The new experience-based stores are designed to deliver that.
"We offer some of the most talked-about mobile services on the market and the new stores are a great place for customers to drop in and see what we have to offer"
The new stores are all located in prime retail estate across the UK said the spokesperson. 3 already has 20 ThreeStores and 150 high-street retail spots in Superdrug stores.

Boxbreak.com compares prices offered by over 20 different retailers including all of the network-owned shops multiples like CPW and Phones 4U and non-specialists such as Asda and Toys R´ Us. It also compares high-street prices with retailers´ web offerings.
The site is initially free but will start charging users for price-comparison searches on a basis of £30 for a 30-day contract.
"We think this site will be of a benefit to box-breakers but also regular dealers and networks too" said boxbreak.com marketing manager Philip Carter.
Carter explained that the site stands apart from other price comparison sites such as Kelkoo because it is the first dedicated to the mobile phone trade sector. He claimed that while other price comparison sites publish information they receive from retailers his company researches its data independently.
Carter acknowledged that the site was taking a potentially provocative stance but was unabashed.
"All we are doing is collating publicly available information" he said. "Without handset subsidies box-breaking would be eradicated it´s down to the networks to deal with this issue. By giving larger discounts to retailers like Argos networks are ensuring that the shops that are hit most by box-breakers are those least equipped to deal with it."

The move is intended to help Dextra smooth its relationship with Nokia following the discovery of counterfeit stock during a warehouse audit and the consequent termination of its accessories contract.

Mobile News understands that Ormerod headed a delegation of Dextra senior management to Finland in early May to try to get the Nokia contract reinstated. The meeting did not go well according to sources. Caudwell Group chief executive John Caudwell accepted Ormerods resignation last week.

This has created an opportunity to run Dextra alongside the Caudwell Groups 20:20 Logistics handset distribution business in the UK. The two businesses have customers and suppliers in common and are already run as a one-stop shop for handset and accessory distribution in France Germany and Spain.

Speculation that 20:20 UK managing director Rod Miller would assume a senior management role at Dextra was dismissed by the Caudwell Group this week. Miller may however take on an expanded role at 20:20 as part of further
restructuring.

The company expects global sales to top 900 million units this year compared with 780 million in 2005. And although handset sales were down 17 per cent from the previous quarter the firm has been selling its phones at a higher average price.
Sony Ericsson spokesman Garry Lockwood said: "As always there is a degree of trepidation when you launch a product. And while the success of the Walkman phone hasn´t astounded us we have seen a rise in demand. We´re trying to meet that by developing new Walkman handsets and expanding the product portfolio."
He added that consumers should expect to see more Walkman handsets this year.
"Mobile music is the next big thing and we want to make sure we´re at the forefront" he said.

The Commission s proposal to regulate mobile roaming retail prices was dubbed unnecessary and at odds with the region s free market principles by the GSM Association earlier this month.
Obermann admitted action needed to be taken but echoed the trade body s sentiments at 3GSM in Barcelona.
Roaming has for some time needed to be more consumer-friendly said Obermann. For this to happen we need lower inter-operator tariffs. But we don t need regulation.
A GSM Association spokesman added: Connecting calls to people travelling outside their home country is fundamentally different from connecting calls to people who aren t roaming. v

The new W950i packs 4GB of flash storage memory enough for 1000 songs and comparable with a mini iPod into a slimline 3G device.
The W950i has the same chassis as the M600 3G messaging device shown here and reported last issue without the QWERTY keypad and with no camera.
Sony Ericsson also launched the K610i the follow-up to the 3G K600i. The K600i has a two megapixel camera push e-mail and the new Memory Stick Micro card format. Sony Ericsson also added the entry-level J100i to its roster as well as the DS970 stereo Bluetooth headset. All products will ship in April/May.
Nokia launched three handsets. The 6136 clamshell works on both mobile and IP-based networks. It uses Nokia s Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) technology to allow handover of voice and data connections between GSM and WLAN networks. It also includes a 1.3 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom.
This move is in step with our fixed-mobile convergence strategy said Nokia vice-president of networks Roberto Loiola. This is about bringing mobility simplicity and personalisation to new customers regardless of the network they are accessing.
Nokia also launched the lower-end 6131 clamshell which has a 1.3 megapixel camera and the entry-level 6070 bar phone.
All products are expected to ship in Q2.
Nokia chief executive Jorma Ollila predicted that Nokia would sell 80 million handsets with integrated music players and 150 million devices with a built-in FM radio in 2006. He claimed global sales of 3G handsets would hit 100 million this year.
Samsung showcased a new HSDPA handset the Z560 which supports speeds of up to 1.8Mbps. It includes a two megapixel camera external music keys 30MB of internal memory and an external microSD memory slot. The Z560 will be available in Q2.
Samsung Telecommunication president Kitae Lee said: HSDPA is the future of mobile broadband. The Z560 will help drive the commercialisation and deployment of HSDPA in Europe.
Samsung also unveiled seven mobile TV devices crossing all types of mobile broadcasting platform. The firm said it was in talks with UK operators about bringing mobile TV technology to the market in 2006.
The SGH-P900 terrestrial DMB phone is being used in mobile TV trials in Germany and France. The P900 will launch in time for the World Cup in Germany in June which will be broadcast on mobile with T-Mobile.
Others included its new DVB-H handset the P910 as well as a dual (terrestrial and satellite) DMB phone the B4100.
Also on the roster in Barcelona was a five megapixel camera phone with satellite DMB capability and a whole range of new slim-line devices less than 15mm thick for release in 2006.
On the heels of the launch of a trio of new devices in Berlin last month BenQ Mobile unveiled three more handsets including an HSDPA device that should reach consumers in time for the World Cup.
The EF91 with a 3.2 megapixel camera is billed as the first HSDPA phone on the grounds that it is already listed with Vodafone and T-Mobile. BenQ Mobile also launched the slimline 3G S81 and the EF51 music phone which has a white casing reminiscent of the Apple iPod and a music keypad that folds down to reveal a regular phone keypad. The EF51 supports Microsoft Windows Media.
BenQ Mobile CEO Clemens Joos said: Our competitors have talked about HSDPA but BenQ will be the first to bring the technology to market.
He added that BenQ expected to develop key alliances with its major customers around the world.
All the BenQ Mobile products will debut in Q2.

Unemployed Thomas Michael Barrett 43 of Central Street Islington was ordered to appear before Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court on May 26.
He is charged with conspiracy to steal phones and accessories worth 9874.68 from Phones 4U on Tottenham Court Road in London on January 15 2004.