Networks have reacted angrily to a report by consumer watchdog Which? magazine that urges consumers not to bother buying a 3G handset this Christmas.

Which? claims that limited 3G network coverage means there are likely to be problems accessing 3G services successfully the service has bulky handsets and consumers are better off with a 2G phone.

Malcolm Coles editor of Which? commented:

There are teething problems with 3G and coverage. We recommend sticking with a 2G phone for the time being. Well be keeping an eye on 3G phones to see if they and the networks live up to their hype.

A 3 spokeswoman said she was surprised by the findings as they reflected little understanding of the UKs 3G market.

She added: Contrary to the Which? report 80 per cent of the British public can access our video mobile services while 99 per cent can access our voice services.

Which? is also mistaken on the issue of handsets. At 114g our NEC 338 is actually lighter than one of Which?s best buys and it has video calling e-mail and full-length music videos.

A Vodafone spokesman said the Which? claims had resulted in some misleading conclusions.

We would be very interested to know the handset models Which? was reviewing in order for it to state that they are bulky he said.

We can only conclude that it was reviewing early models and its report is based on research conducted before the Vodafone 3G launch. Our initial 3G handsets are comparable in size and weight to many of our existing 2.5G models.

The Vodafone spokesman went on to claim that the reports comments on current levels of coverage seemed to have been misconstrued by many reading the report.

Our customers can pass from 3G to GSM/GPRS coverage seamlessly he claimed. The only services which wont hand over are video calls and video streaming. We are confident that our 3G service offers excellent value and an extension of the services we are offering over GSM.

A spokesman for Orange said:

Which? makes some very valid points in the report but unfortunately the market has caught up with it since it looked at 3G.

Lots of the points made complete sense. But what Which? has said isnt rocket science. You have to make sure the customer has the right phone. Orange has 99 per cent population coverage of which 70 per cent is 3G but its an integrated network. Customers move seamlessly from one to the other.

T-Mobile avoided commenting directly on the Which? report merely stating:

3G is an important technology platform for offering advanced services for customers. It is an important part of the simple seamless technology strategy of T-Mobile including GPRS and W-LAN.

Despite the network furore Which? stood by its findings saying:

The networks may say that 3G handsets switch seamlessly from 3G to GPRS. But the point in buying a 3G handset is access to enhanced services such as video calling. Consumers wont get that unless they are within 3G coverage areas and there are tracts with no coverage at all. For example in Wales there is virtually no 3G coverage.

We appreciate that more 3G phones have launched since we did our research. At that time only the Nokia 7600 LG u8110 and Sony Ericsson Z1010 were available for testing. We had to work with what was out there.

We know more handsets have since been launched but we will do an update next summer and if as the networks claim things are much improved Im sure our next report will reflect this.

See Our Shout page 16

Haier ranks fifth among Chinese manufacturers in its domestic market behind Bird TCL Amoi and Konka.

Its factory headquarters in Qingdao cost 25 million and can churn out 15 million handsets a year.

Theres the possibility of working with Tesco Mobile or BT Mobile or other small MVNOs that want to differentiate themselves said Haier sales and marketing head Tim Sagar.

Its a question of building confidence. People are very snooty but once we have a reference with an operator our reputation will build he said.

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Anton Davies of Just Communications said he had no choice but to complain to Ofcom. Only then did Genesis bother to get in contact with him.

It normally takes five days to get a PAC code but the whole process has taken more than three months with Genesis and would have taken even longer without Ofcoms intervention he said.

Genesis is not a member of an Alternate Dispute Resolutions (ADR) agreement and has now been warned if it does not join it will face enforcement from Ofcom.

The Communications Act 2003 requires every public communications provider to provide access to a dispute procedure scheme for their domestic and small business customers.

Ofcom has approved two schemes: OTELO and CISAS. Genesis is not a member of either. If it fails to join such a scheme Ofcom will take action.

Genesis marketing director Brad Whatmough said:

The customer signed a contract which clearly stated 90 days notice. We have not breached any terms of our agreement with them. But this situation took too long to resolve.

Whatmough added that Genesis had recently changed the cancellation notice period from 90 days to 30 days.

We realise our previous way of doing things is outdated he acknowledged.

Genesis is in the process of finalising an ADR agreement within eight weeks.

A statement from his solicitor Ahmet Ratip of Imran Khan & Partners said: Mr Khan strenuously denies all accusations and the case will be vigorously fought to show his innocence.

Khan has been charged with threatening to kill threatening criminal damage two counts of arson and one count of arson with the intent to endanger life.

Thats the view of Keith Curran general manager of Yes Telecom which also runs its own MVNO utilising the T-Mobile network.

The pie is already baked and it cant get any bigger. Now somebody else wants to take a knife to it he said.

Of course the competition will be great news for consumers but ultimately it will undermine all the networks because the vast majority of their customers spend between 20 and 30 he added.

He said the existing pre-pay base on every network would be affected.

In general terms it wont affect business customers or those spending over a certain amount of money but it will be a major issue for the pre-pay sector as that represents such high volumes for the networks – sometimes as much as two-thirds.

Curran claimed that the easyMobile premise cut out the entire distribution channel and so threatened small dealers livelihoods.

The end user will feel like hes on to a winner but the industry as a whole is on to a loser said Curran

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Unemployed teenager Adnan Majeed (18) was conditionally discharged for a year after pleading guilty to stealing five phones at the shop at 324 Oxford Street on November 22.

The court heard Majeed selected the phones for purchase but then stuffed them into his bag before leaving the shop without paying.

Staff stopped him outside the shop and brought him back in but he made a run for it and was chased along the street and caught again.

Majeed was said to have a conviction for theft in May this year. He was also ordered to pay 55 in costs.

The 1 million Christmas and new year promotion involves exclusive incentives across all of 20:20s suppliers and covers 100 handset models. The Win a Villa promotion is in conjunction with Samsung and will conclude with one dealer getting the deeds to a holiday home in Cyprus.

The Nokia element of the promotion is a shareout promotion of a web-based rewards scheme across the Nokia range. Siemens will be giving away 170000 worth of accessories. Sony Ericssons contribution is the Mini Cooper S convertible.

Panasonic is promoting the X70 with a holiday in Barbados

3s pre-pay offering gets a boost linking in with 3s Christmas content campaign and the offer of FA Cup final tickets theatre breaks and games.

Virgin Mobile pre-pay is being pushed with the lure of a hospitality trip to the Virgin Mobile-sponsored Superbike Championship next year. Motorola is contributing a points and prizes promotion called Motovation.

Sendo is promoting the Sendo X with a TV campaign and Vodafone is giving away hampers.

This campaign shows all what we have to offer and is excellent news for the dealer channel said a 20:20 spokesperson.

The list is formidable – theres something for everyone.

McGlade will see out the financial year ending March 31 2005 when O2 chief financial officer and ex-Vodafone financial director Matthew Key will take the reins.

McGlade joined BT Cellnet as CEO in October 2000 and oversaw the successful launch of the then new O2 brand. Colleagues admitted they were shocked by the announcement.

A spokesman for O2 said:

In a way it was shock when we first heard the news but hes had a great run. Hes been here for four years – arriving the year before the company was divested and re-branded as O2. He helped restructure BT Cellnet and turn it around as O2.

David is heading back to the US for family and other reasons. He has a post to go to there but details havent yet been finalised.

He is staying for another four months after which he will hand it over to Matthew Key who is number two at the moment. Matthew is currently CFO and is well respected within the industry.

Key joined O2 as CFO in February 2002 and looks after strategy business development regulatory carrier services and wholesale services. He was the prime mover behind the Tesco Mobile joint-venture of which he is currently chairman.

Prior to working at O2 Key was finance director at Vodafone for four years. He has also held various financial positions with Kingfisher Coca-Cola Schweppes and Grand Metropolitan.

He qualified as a chartered accountant with Arthur Young in London in 1987. Key is 41 years old and married with three children.

McGlade is on the board of directors at O2 parent company mmO2 at Tesco Mobile and the GSM Association. (see page 16).

Before joining O2 he was president of the western region for US operator Sprint PCS.

The service uses the gateway of wireless solutions provider MX Telecom.

It means users can access video content more quickly and immediately. Only news weather comedy and music clips are currently available via the video short code service.

The 17-year-old was on bail at the time after holding a knife to a schoolboys stomach and taking his phone just a month earlier.

The thug admitted the two street robberies moments before his trial was due to start at Inner London Crown Court. He was sentenced to 18 months in a young offenders institute. His 16-year-old co-defendant was sentenced to 12 months.