Staff Reporter

An FCS statement said:

Throughout 2003 the mobile network operators acquired a number of the remaining mobile independent service providers.

Recently both O2 and Vodafone indicated that they will not be renewing their agreements with a number of other mobile independent service providers when they expire at the end of the year.

As a consequence the Federation of Communication Services has decided to wind up its MISP group with effect from December 31.

The Association of Communication Service Providers (ACSP) and other FCS groups remain available to provide representation for mobile independent service provider companies it concluded.

FCS chief executive Jacqui Brookes added:

An industry grouping of mobile phone service providers has been part of FCS since 1989. The end of the MISP group is a sad milestone for competition in this marketplace.

She added: The major reduction in the number of mobile independent service providers is bound to have a negative effect on the mobile market as customers will have far less choice of branded mobile phone airtime suppliers in the future.

Autocall was one of six Vodafone SPs warned in August they had not performed to their business plan and would not have their licences renewed on December 31 unless they met their targets.

Autocalls 1200 customers have been transferred to Vodafone Business Services.

Autocall founder John Ditchburn told Mobile News:

Autocall Services is in liquidation. A creditors meeting has been held. PricewaterhouseCoopers has been appointed as the liquidator. Vodafone wanted a minimum of 250 connections per month which we could no longer meet in a saturated market.

Surprisingly Ditchburn does not blame Vodafone but Oftel.

Once Oftel removed the regulation that obliged the networks to use service providers it was obvious that this day would come. Oftels decision reduced competition.

Its disappointing because we tried to take a long-term view of the market. Other SPs had a short-term strategy to build a customer base with the ultimate aim of selling it. Maybe thats what we should have done.

Autocall Services was an airtime company. Without a service provider licence it no longer had a business. I had no option but to liquidate. Autocall Limited will continue to trade for the time being. I will evaluate things over the Christmas period and decide on what to do in the new year. Selling the customer base was not an option.

Vodafone had a debenture on the customer base and will offset the value of the customer base against any debt.

The most significant creditor will be Vodafone said Ditchburn.

Vodafone declined to comment specifically on Autocalls situation. However Vodafone business segment head Ken McGeorge said:

We sent letters to six service providers that were not performing to their business plans. Two have since improved and will not have their licences removed. The licences of the other four will not be renewed. They have until March 31 to sell their customer bases.

The next issue will appear on January 12. We wish all our readers and advertisers a Merry Christmas and prosperous new year.

Fraser joined Orange from Safeway in October 2000 as head of retail activities and was appointed to the position of sales and distribution director personal and small business in June.

Siemens is the number two handset manufacturer in Europe according to reports by research firms Strategy Analytics and IDC.

But research company Gartner Dataquest puts Motorola and Samsung ahead of Siemens on global market share.

Nokia remained number one globally in Q3 2003 (45 million units) with Motorola second (19.4 million) followed by Samsung (14.8 million) Siemens (12.1 million) LG (7.08 million) and Sony Ericsson (7.07 million).

Strategy Analytics said that Siemens European market share grew from 11 per cent to 17 per cent between Q2 and Q3 this year. Nokia lost market share for the first time in two years. The report also noted improved sales by Sony Ericsson and Sagem.

However IDC says Siemens western European market share grew to 18.7 per cent.

The company shipped 4.75 million handsets in Q3. Siemens has some way to go in order to catch Nokias 12.8 million handsets in the same quarter.

Sony Ericsson was in third position (2.3 million) Motorola in fourth (1.7 million) and Samsung in fifth (one million). Overall handset sales of 25.4 million in Q3 2003 were almost identical to the same quarter last year.

Nokia saw its Q3 sales drop by 1.1 million handsets over the same quarter in 2002. Motorola and Samsung dipped in sales compared with last year. Motorola was down 400000; Samsung was down by 325000 units.

The biggest winners were Siemens (up one million) and Sony Ericsson (up 765000).

Siemens vice-president for Northern Europe Jonathan Bate said:

Siemens strategy is working. We have seen this reflected in our increased UK performance. Our market share continues to rise. We are starting to see cracks in Nokias skin. We expect our performance to improve.

He went on: This time last year we only had one or two handsets in the market. This year we have six or seven products on sale. We now have products in the vast majority of retailers. We are also selling handsets on all the networks.

There will be even more products next year. The Real Madrid sponsorship deal and the Beckham effect are helping brand awareness which is stronger than ever.

Sony Ericsson UK managing director Philip Rambech was also delighted with Sony Ericssons increase in sales and share.

The T610 is selling well. We can eat into Nokias share he said. The product roadmap for 2004 gives us confidence we will take a serious step forward. The benefits of the joint venture are finally materialising. 2004 will see a continuation in sales growth with a strong and broad product range.

Cem Urmen (21) of Pasture Road Catford is charged with stealing a 177 Ericsson T610 at The Orange Shop at Whiteleys shopping centre in Queensway Paddington between June 22 and June 28.

He is also charged that between June 27 and November 1 he dishonestly obtained a telecommunicaitons service from Orange Communications making calls costing 123 with intent to avoid payment.

The region is now said to be the fastest growing wireless market in the world up more than 22.5 million subscribers (a growth rate of 29 per cent) since the start of this year driven mainly by growth in Russia.

Russia is the largest and by far the fastest growing market in Central and Eastern Europe with over 32 million subscribers at the end of October 2003 said Kester Mann senior research analyst at data publishing house EMC.

Russia only overtook Poland as the largest market in Central and Eastern Europe in Q2 2002 and it now has over 14 million more subscribers than Poland.

This is the highest monthly total reported since the MDA began collating data on behalf of the UK network operators in 1998.The UK daily average figure for October stands at 58.5 million compared with 50 million in October 2002 and 38 million in October 2001.

The cumulative figure for 2003 has already overtaken the 2002 total which was 16 billion. Octobers figures takes the cumulative total for 2003 to 16.8 billion against a 12-month MDA forecast for the year of 20 billion allowing for seasonal trends.

There are currently around a million Bluetooth-capable mobile phones in circulation in the UK some 20 per cent of handsets. By 2008 this is expected to increase to 75 per cent. Handset geeks have discovered that Bluetooth can be used to send messages to unsuspecting owners at a range of up to 10m. Rainier calls the sending of marketing messages in this way Bluespam.

The marketing industry is never slow to jump on a new communication channel but failure to understand the subtleties of Bluejacking could blow up in the faces of marketing teams said Rainier MD Stephen Waddington.

The world does not need Bluespam. It could be the easiest way yet to alienate swathes of customers at the push of a button.

Rainier says there are three possible areas in which Bluejacking could be used in commercial marketing programmes namely viral marketing community activities and location-based services.

The company has identified companies that are already exploiting Bluejacking for viral marketing and community activities but says that it is location-based services that are the most controversial application of Bluejacking.

Opt-in schemes will be essential if Bluejacking is to avoid getting instantly tarnished with the free-for-all stigma of e-mail spam said Waddington.

Given the intimate relationship between a consumer and their mobile phone the potential for a company to alienate a consumer with a misdirected Bluetooth message is likely to be even greater.

(See Sharp End P48).

The mast was illegally pulled down on Bonfire Night after bolts were removed from its base. It was sold to a scrap yard by T-Mobile and then bought by residents who smashed it up and sold the pieces as souvenirs.

This is is a legal structure that was illegally pulled down said a T-Mobile spokesperson.

The mast received planning permission and meets all safety requirements.

It is an integral part of the network in that area and since its destruction capacity has been down in the area. We cannot allow a precedent to be set where the illegal destruction of a mast leads to the relocation of a mast.

Local residents say they have found a safer location. But T-Mobile says the location is not as simple as finding a field that we are able to erect a mast in.

We carried out a survey of the region. This was identified as the best spot. We continue to hold dialogue with local residents but the mast will be replaced.