A source close to the company said that the group was hoping to enter the Chinese mobile market as early as this August and that the likely collaborator in the project is China Unicom which currently has 150 million customers.

The operation is headed up by Geoffroy Roux de Bezieux who comes from Phone House the French arm of The Carphone Warehouse. It is funded through a joint-venture between Virgin Group and CPW.
Branson accused the country´s three existing mobile phone networks of ripping off 80 per cent of the French population.
Telephony services will be provided by Orange which came on board after the three existing French networks were fined for collusion by the EU.
The new MVNO offers unlimited texting 24 hours a day seven days a week.
"In France the existing operators defend their interests and consumers have lost confidence in them" said Branson. "We want an operator that doesn´t work against customers but with them."
Branson was unable to comment on whether the French text deal would be extended to UK customers.

"It is vital that we have the best support as the first BenQ-Siemens branded handsets are launched in the UK" said BenQ Mobile UK and Ireland managing director Philip Rambech.
Barnett will develop strategic alliances with key network operators and maintain good relations with all customers.
Barnett previously worked at handset maker NEC as an account manager and at UniqueAir now part of Unique Distribution as channel marketing manager.

The launch party was held at a secret gig by the band on May 9 where 200 fans enjoyed a taster of the band´s first album Waterloo to Anywhere.
To attend the fans were instructed to go to Waterloo station in London where they received a Bluetooth message promoting the gig.
The venue also featured a demo room where the media could try out the new handsets which were pre-loaded with exclusive music content.
"Bluetooth is the ideal democratic vehicle for Dirty Pretty Things" said Mercury Records president Jason Iley. "Anything that brings together a band and its fans is fine by me."

The firm launched Flext in March and secured 257000 customers on the 18-month contract in one month 83 per cent more than contract growth for the whole of last year.
"We are growing T-Mobile´s share of the UK market and we are growing the value of the business" said T-Mobile UK managing director Jim Hyde.
"We are doing so by setting new benchmarks for simplicity value and flexibility."
T-Mobile´s total customer base now stands at 16.4 million of which 379000 were gained in the first quarter of this year.

O2 has been 3´s roaming partner since 3 launched in 2003. 3 invited UK networks to tender for the roaming contract 18 months ago and the network said Orange tendered the most competitive bid.
3 UK CEO Bob Fuller said: "It was important we had a competitive tender and I am delighted with the outcome of the process. This is a good agreement for both 3 and Orange and will ensure that we continue to offer a great service to our customers."
An O2 spokesman said: "We weren´t prepared to win at any cost. Our bid was based on a sound commercial proposition and we weren´t prepared to go above our valuation. You have to set a price that you think is realistic and stick to it."
He added: "We will continue to benefit for some time until all of the roaming traffic can be migrated away from our network next year."
3 has continued to roll out its network and now claims to have 88 per cent population coverage. At the same time subscriber numbers have grown to 3.5 million. Orange claims 99 per cent population coverage.

Love heads up channel sales and has been tasked with growing Fone Logistics´ existing base of around 600 dealers and increasing consumer and corporate connections.
He joins from 4U Ltd where he was also national sales manager and has more than 12 years´ experience with networks service providers retail and distribution.
Fone Logistics director of network sales Giulio Laise said: "We have been looking for a while to make an appointment to support the management team. Allan will be a valuable asset in growing our business and will contribute to our achieving the annual operating plan."

"We think this is the best commercial deal out there" said Adam Shaw from UK Phone Solutions. "People think it is so good that they have asked us if there is any small print they should be aware of."
The Web´n´Walk deal encourages mobile users on to the Internet for a flat rate of £17 a month with a new Web´n´Walk datacard.
"We believe that broadband mobile will change the way we work live and play more even than mobile voice has done" said T-Mobile sales director Simon Ainslie.
"We have led the way with open internet access for mobile and with speeds that already well exceed dial-up. Later this year we will launch true broadband mobile speeds."
Web´n´Walk Professional potentially offers users Internet access at speeds six times faster than 3G. The card is also quad-band allowing users to roam in more countries including the US.
"In the past people were worried about how long they were using the Internet on their phone" added Shaw. "This plan means that is no longer a consideration. I think in time it will become the norm in the same way broadband did."
Ainslie added: "Until today cost has been a barrier to customer take-up. Now Web´n´Walk Professional makes Internet access on the move a reality. "

A Phones 4U spokesman revealed the sale was "progressing well" but refused to be drawn on details of the contenders. He did confirm that "a winner is expected to be announced within a month".
CVC has teamed up with Providence Equity Partners while Bain is believed to be working with Nordic Capital.
Owner John Caudwell sold Caudwell Communications the fixed-line service that trades as Homecall to telecoms group Pipex in March.
However the sale of the rest of the group which includes high street retailer Phones 4U and logistics business Dextra could still fall through if a price cannot be agreed.
Caudwell believes his business to be worth over £1 billion but the private equity groups are thought to be pitching bids below this sum.

Reporting directly to 3 UK CEO Bob Fuller he will be responsible for assessing the commercial viability of new business opportunities.
"Having worked with Gordon for more than 10 years I am confident he will lead the company successfully into new market segments" said Fuller.
Webber added: "Developing new market segments is the next natural step for 3. We have the most advanced mobile network in the UK and the infrastructure in place to expand our service to a wide variety of new customers."
Webber was part of the original team involved in Hutchison Telecom´s entry to the UK market.