Of most concern to the channel was whether or not the position of Orange head of sales for independent retail Chris Hough could be made untenable by a duplication of roles.

One senior distributor source said: The worry is that Orange is already without a sales director since it hasnt yet replaced Stuart Henry. If Chris leaves and they bring in guys from Wanadoo then we will be dealing with people that dont know the channel and how it works.

Houghs role as head of sales at Orange is duplicated as things stand. Steve Heald holds a similar position as head of sales at Wanadoo. Heald is responsible for the same pre-pay retail routes such as Woolworths and Argos that Hough heads up at Orange.

Mobile News understands that Orange will retain only one person as sales director following the reorganisation.

Orange has offered staff voluntary redundancy for the first time in its history as part of the restructure. Staff had until midnight on Friday (July 14) to opt for voluntary redundancy. It is unclear what Houghs position is regarding this option.

Hough refused to comment but an Orange spokesperson said: The new organisation is expected to be in place in September. While this process is ongoing we cannot comment about specific individuals.

Because Wanadoo has traditionally featured on the high street and not in independent distribution there is little duplication of roles at account level.

Oranges mobile and broadband units will be combined and staff on both sides will go on dealing with their respective accounts under the Orange brand.

Another distributor said: Orange is looking at a lot of senior positions – frontline dealer account managers sales managers and sales directors. Because that is where the doubling up is taking place thats where the integration has to happen. It is in a melting pot this weekend.

He added: The dealer and distributor concern is that while change can be a good thing wholesale change is bad. If Chris leaves as head of channel Orange will be short of senior staff that understand Orange distribution.

The P990i was first announced to content developers in October. It was originally slated for release in Q1 but shipping dates were put back to Q2 to allow Sony Ericsson?s M600i 3G smartphone to gain traction in the market. It now has a projected August shipping date.

Sony Ericsson marketing manager Richard Dorman said: We dont have the exact date for the launch of the P990i handset but it looks likely to be the earlier part of August. We delayed the launch of the phone to differentiate it from the M600i which was a fresh product.

The P990i is just one of nine new handsets Sony Ericsson will launch in the next three months including five new Walkman-branded devices.

Fone Logistics has picked 14 O2 business dealers to join its new Select Business programme which it developed ahead of O2s Advance distributor programme.

However Fone Logistics head of marketing Julien Parven said the figure would probably reduce to around 12 through a process of natural wastage.

Select Business dealers will work to agreed six-month performance targets and receive marketing tools and guidance.

We will help them with lead generation and pass on tools we receive from O2 in terms of training and recruitment said Parven.

Fone Logistics agreed its own six-month business plan with O2 ? around customer churn tenure and ARPU – last month and is set to reach 2500 business connections a quarter within nine to 12 months.

Now it is raising the bar with Select Business which went live on July 1 with targets of 3000 a quarter.

Fone Logistics has also launched a field support division to work alongside its eight dealer managers offering support and field audits.

We have invested in this division as a non-profit entity within our business said Parven. We can work more closely with our dealers to manage risk and educate them as to how to market to and sign up value customers.

Dealers claimed that Vodafones new fulfilment software called Libra/Gemini was installed last month without warning. They said connections on the old fulfilment system Dice took just a few hours.

One dealer said: Vodafone sprung it on us on June 13. Wed happily gone through the Dice connection process for five years. It was a little archaic but it worked well. The new system is all e-mail-based but it takes up to four days to credit check and connect customers.

Another dealer said: The nightmare is real. Business has suffered because Vodafone has changed its fulfilment system. Connections are taking longer and there was no warning of the changeover.

Vodafone said that it had not moved any of its dealer base to new fulfilment software but a Vodafone spokesperson admitted: There are a few small localised issues in the area of credit checks and connections.

Begbies Traynor has been appointed as insolvency practitioner and has sold the companys call centre operation in South Africa. The proceeds will go to pay creditors but early indications are that the funds will fall short of the amount needed.

Jesse Meredith-Watts and Richard Marsden have resigned as executive directors but will remain as joint managing directors. They are currently preparing year-end accounts to March 30 which will be announced at the end of this month.

The company previously experienced a spell in voluntary administration in 2002.

Sweetlove admitted that the pace had slowed following Carphone Warehouse?s purchase of Hugh Symons in December.

It is probably fair to say that our approach with the networks in the first six months has not been ideal said Sweetlove. With recent changes in personnel we are doing a lot of work to ensure that we remain a well-respected and key partner.

His comments follow gripes from dealers that the hype that followed the acquisition has not borne fruit.

Karl May co-founder of Manchester dealership MK Mobiles said: The Hugh Symons Carphone thing hasnt moved at the rate that [former Carphone Warehouse director of indirect distribution] Steve Fraser gave us the impression it would. The takeover was quite promising at one stage but it doesn?t seem to have developed properly.

However the departure of Fraser last month following an internal investigation appears to have eased tensions.

Sweetlove said: Dealers are now going to see a more steady build-up of the proposition.

Sweetlove who takes some of the slack left by Fraser aims to bring Hugh Symons airtime division and Carphone Warehouses SIM-free business Mobile Phone Express (MPE) closer together.

Hugh Symons and MPE can align to offer a more co-ordinated product and service proposition to the independent dealer he said. Initially we will continue business as usual but we plan to develop quickly to allow dealers to buy airtime and handsets on one account. Closer alignment will also allow both sales teams to access a wider customer base.

Hugh Symons dealers should be able to offer Carphone Warehouses LifeLine insurance product and its TalkTalk landline service shortly.

The shocking statistic was revealed by top insurance investigator Royston Ford at a high-level conference on mobile crime organised by Mobile News on June 28.

Ford also revealed that insurance losses due to mobile phone robberies reached 60 million in the past year with at least one incident a week.

A cottage industry of white-collar crime has been taken up by serious and organised criminals who will stop at nothing he said.

See Cracking Crime feature

European Telecom has been appointed as a distributor of Vodafone pre-pay products for the first time.
European Telecom sales and marketing director Frank Masson said: ?Vodafone has always been the missing link in terms of our pre-pay play. It is an important win for us.?
He added that European Telecom believed it could add value to Vodafone pre-pay. ?Not just by distributing to high street retailers like Woolworths and Argos where everybody trades but in other routes? he said.
Vodafone head of pre-pay sales Nick Birtwistle said: ?European Telecom is ideally placed to support our growing retailer and dealer base we are pleased to have them on board 2006?.
European Telecom is a pre-pay distributor for all five major UK networks.

Hugh Symons offers dealers reassurance

Hugh Symons business manager Bob Sweetlove said this week that dealers should expect a steadier roll-out of Hugh Symons? combined airtime/SIM-free proposition.
Sweetlove admitted that the pace had slowed following Carphone Warehouse?s purchase of Hugh Symons in December.
?It is probably fair to say that our approach with the networks in the first six months has not been ideal? said Sweetlove. ?With recent changes in personnel we are doing a lot of work to ensure that we remain a well-respected and key partner.?
His comments follow gripes from dealers that the hype that followed the acquisition has not borne fruit.
Karl May co-founder of Manchester dealership MK Mobiles said: ?The Hugh Symons Carphone thing hasn?t moved at the rate that [former Carphone Warehouse director of indirect distribution] Steve Fraser gave us the impression it would. The takeover was quite promising at one stage but it doesn?t seem to have developed properly.?
However the departure of Fraser last month following an internal investigation appears to have eased tensions.
Sweetlove said: ?Dealers are now going to see a more steady build-up of the proposition.?
Sweetlove who takes some of the slack left by Fraser aims to bring Hugh Symons? airtime division and Carphone Warehouse?s SIM-free business Mobile Phone Express (MPE) closer together.
?Hugh Symons and MPE can align to offer a more co-ordinated product and service proposition to the independent dealer? he said. ?Initially we will continue business as usual but we plan to develop quickly to allow dealers to buy airtime and handsets on one account. Closer alignment will also allow both sales teams to access a wider customer base.?
Hugh Symons dealers should be able to offer Carphone Warehouse?s LifeLine insurance product and its TalkTalk landline service shortly.

Tough market places Celltalk in liquidation

Manchester online dealership and telesales business Celltalk has gone into liquidation blaming tough market conditions.
Begbies Traynor has been appointed as insolvency practitioner and has sold the company?s call centre operation in South Africa. The proceeds will go to pay creditors but early indications are that the funds will fall short of the amount needed.
Jesse Meredith-Watts and Richard Marsden have resigned as executive directors but will remain as joint managing directors. They are currently preparing year-end accounts to March 30 which will be announced at the end of this month.
The company previously experienced a spell in voluntary administration in 2002.

Voda Business suffers slow connections

Vodafone Business dealers complained this week that they had lost business because customer connections were taking up to four days.
Dealers claimed that Vodafone?s new fulfilment software called Libra/Gemini was installed last month without warning. They said connections on the old fulfilment system Dice took just a few hours.
One dealer said: ?Vodafone sprung it on us on June 13. We?d happily gone through the Dice connection process for five years. It was a little archaic but it worked well. The new system is all e-mail-based but it takes up to four days to credit check and connect customers.
Another dealer said: ?The nightmare is real. Business has suffered because Vodafone has changed its fulfilment system. Connections are taking longer and there was no warning of the changeover.?
Vodafone said that it had not moved any of its dealer base to new fulfilment software but a Vodafone spokesperson admitted: ?There are a few small localised issues in the area of credit checks and connections.?

New Fone Logistics dealer programme

Fone Logistics has set itself ambitious internal targets of 3000 O2 business connections a quarter and launched an internal dealer programme in conjunction with its new status as an O2 Advance distributor.
Fone Logistics has picked 14 O2 business dealers to join its new Select Business programme which it developed ahead of O2?s Advance distributor programme.
However Fone Logistics head of marketing Julien Parven said the figure would probably reduce to around 12 through a process of natural wastage.
Select Business dealers will work to agreed six-month performance targets and receive marketing tools and guidance.
?We will help them with lead generation and pass on tools we receive from O2 in terms of training and recruitment? said Parven.
Fone Logistics agreed its own six-month business plan with O2 ? around customer churn tenure and ARPU ? last month and is set to reach 2500 business connections a quarter within nine to 12 months.
Now it is raising the bar with Select Business which went live on July 1 with targets of 3000 a quarter.
Fone Logistics has also launched a field support division to work alongside its eight dealer managers offering support and field audits.
?We have invested in this division as a non-profit entity within our business? said Parven. ?We can work more closely with our dealers to manage risk and educate them as to how to market to and sign up value customers.?

P990i set to hit channel in August

Sony Ericsson?s long-delayed P990i smartphone will reach the channel early next month.
The P990i was first announced to content developers in October. It was originally slated for release in Q1 but shipping dates were put back to Q2 to allow Sony Ericsson?s M600i 3G smartphone to gain traction in the market. It now has a projected August shipping date.
Sony Ericsson marketing manager Richard Dorman said: ?We don?t have the exact date for the launch of the P990i handset but it looks likely to be the earlier part of August. We delayed the launch of the phone to differentiate it from the M600i which was a fresh product.?
The P990i is just one of nine new handsets Sony Ericsson will launch in the next three months including five new Walkman-branded devices.

T-Mobile connections have dropped up to 70 per cent from last month and are set to fall further in August.

T-Mobile is unlikely to put money back into the independent channel until after Christmas.

Dealers are now reluctant to connect T-Mobile following commissions cuts of 25 per cent at the start of the month. Many dealers have removed T-Mobile point-of-sale material from their stores altogether.

Dealers are also frustrated because they have been saddled with stock that they cannot return to T-Mobile and cannot profitably shift. They have resorted to running T-Mobile stock down by drip-connecting it.

T-Mobile would not be drawn on its future channel strategy. Distributors said T-Mobile has already blown its acquisition budget for the year.

One distributor source said: T-Mobile says it is tracking at 70 per cent less than last month across the board which is certainly what were finding. Both its Flext and Business 1 plan tariffs have been so successful that it has already hit its targets. When it first dropped its prices back in May it thought sales would slow but they didnt so it took another 25 per cent out of the package in July.

Midlands-based Go Mobile expects to sign just 50 customers to T-Mobile in July – down from 150 last month and 700 during June.

Go Mobile managing director Iain Humphrey said: When T-Mobile launched Flext it had a real opportunity to build partnerships with the channel that it didnt take.

Business is being switched to Orange and 3.

Avenir and MoCo said T-Mobile sales were tracking at 60-70 per cent less than in July. Hugh Symons European Telecom and Fone Logistics said T-Mobile connections were down by at least 50 per cent.

MoCo managing director Ian Robinson said: Dealers will continue to sell stock to wash it out of the channel. That is why sales have been reasonably buoyant in the first two weeks of July. Into August sales are likely to fall even more.

Hugh Symons business manager Bob Sweetlove said: Connections are down 50 per cent on last month but it is likely to be even slower next month if dealers run their inventories down and no new stock is sent out. It is very hard to return kit to T-Mobile so most dealers will sell the kit they already have. Then we will see which dealers move their business to other networks.

Mobile News columnist and Futurenet Communications founder Jez Harris said: We can?t send the stock back and have had to come to terms with the fact that we?ll have to drip connect T-Mobile stock.

T-Mobile added to the frustration last week by extending its clawback period from 90 days to 120 days.

Mobile phone networks have condemned the EU?s latest plan to slash roaming call rates.
The new proposals announced as Mobile News went to press aim to cut roaming costs by 70 per cent and include a cap on the charges customers pay to receive a call on their phone when roaming abroad.
EU commissioner for information society and media Viviane Reding said: ?Reducing roaming charges will not only be beneficial for citizens travelling within the EU but also enhance the competitiveness of Europe?s industry.?
But UK networks slammed the plans having already taken independent steps to cut their charges.
T-Mobile UK MD Jim Hyde said: ?True mobility means affordable mobility and at present too many mobile customers don?t use their phones abroad. That acts against their interests ? and against ours. Our new 55p roaming rate is as simple as it gets. It?s for every customer whether pre-pay or contract.?
The GSM Association calling the EU?s latest proposals ?a straitjacket that will stifle innovation dampen competition and harm consumers.?
A Vodafone spokesman added: ?It is still a prescriptive regulation and we?re not convinced that it?s in the best interests of our customers.?

If it ain?t broke don?t fix it

The UK mobile industry wastes 54 million per year because users return their phones when they?re not actually faulty.
A new report by data service provider WDSGlobal drawn from analysis of 15000 monthly post-sales support calls claims that 63 per cent of mobile devices returned as faulty are actually in perfect working order ? users just haven?t learned to use them properly.
UK mobile phone users are struggling with applications on their mobile phones claims the report.
WDSGlobal head of communications Doug Overton said: ?The industry needs to look at the causes behind this trend and take positive action to improve the general out-of-box experience for the mobile subscriber.?
Each device that is returned costs operators manufacturers and retailers about 35 resulting in an overall bill for the global mobile industry of 2.5 billion.

Now Carphone wants to be Zara of mobile

Carphone Warehouse is opening two more concept stores next month. One will be in central London?s Marylebone Road the other in Guildford.
The stores will be used to develop design cues for a gradual store refit focusing on in-store experience and the reduction of queues.
Carphone Warehouse UK chief operating officer Richard Walker said: ?You won?t see an overnight change but it will cover the look feel and behaviour in the stores.?
UK CEO Andrew Harrison added: ?We are moving into a market where a phone purchase is similar to that of a pair of sunglasses or jeans. We want to be taking a similar approach to the one taken by Zara. The products might be cheap but they are desirable and displayed in a nice environment.?

World Cup boosts 3 TV

3 claims its mobile TV usage increased 61 per cent during the World Cup with 3.6 million viewings of its three dedicated World Cup channels.
3 marketing director Graeme Oxby said: ?The World Cup has put mobile TV on the map with the weekly viewing figures for World Cup TV peaking at over a million.?
Content included match highlights five minutes after the final whistle. All 3?s 3.5 million customers could tune in free which helped boost 3?s average weekly TV viewings during the Cup to more than 740000.