Motorola veteran Richard Evans has left after eight years to take a position with recruitment specialists Wickland Westcott where he will be setting up a telecoms and technology division.

I wanted to pursue a different career and do something different where I could create some business value and get into something more entrepreneurial he said.

To stay at Motorola long-term you have to be dogged and tough. You reach a point when you get to your early 40s and decide whether or not you want to be a corporate citizen or do something different and develop some new skills.

Evans joined Motorola from now-defunct service provider Talkland where he was purchasing director.

At Motorola he was a national sales manager account director and business development director.

Most recently he had been leading various mobile applications businesses in Europe covering areas such as telematics and location-based services.

With all my years in the mobile industry Ive built up a big network of contacts and done a lot of public speaking he said.

With the industry knowledge I have and having done the jobs myself Im able to help people find the right positions.

3 has partnered with Sky Sports to offer two-minute video clips of sports bulletins and highlights through its 3G portal Today on 3.

The Sky Sports service already available on the portal adds to the 2003/4 season Premier League highlights already offered by 3 and Barclaycard. Content is edited specifically for 3s 3G videophone technology and can be viewed as it downloads to the handset through 3s QuickPlay video player.

3s football coverage will include game previews and highlights as well as archive footage. The Sky Sports service also offers text information on English and Scottish club sides.

An unemployed woman has been charged with dishonestly handing a stolen Samsung phone for the benefit of another.

Frances Ntansah (21) of Maida Vale London was remanded on unconditional bail at Horseferry Road Court until today (June 14).

Vodafone will open 10 new Vodafone Experience Stores this financial year and refurbish existing ones.

Vodafone Experience stores include interactive demonstration areas and plasma-screen TVs to let customers trial services.

The first of the new Experience stores opened in Basingstoke last week. Among the new features is a business lounge to showcase the networks 3G data card and other business solutions.

Staff at these flagship stores undergo four weeks of training which focus on business as well as consumer solutions.

The layout of the shops has been redesigned as well said a Vodafone spokesman.

The Basingstoke store features curved areas and softer lines instead of the angular look of old. The design of the store is to ensure that the customer environment is the best possible experience.

Prime locations across the country will be chosen for the roll-out of new stores.

Basingstoke was chosen because of the high footfall and its proximity to the M4 corridor.

As well as opening 10 new

Experience stores Vodafone will start a refurbishment programme of existing stores starting with its premier site on Londons Oxford Street.

UK Broadband a subsidiary of Hong Kong telecoms provider PCCW has bought the network sites belonging to the failed company for an undisclosed fee.

We have made a purchase of Dolphins sites said a UK Broadband spokesman. A pilot project is under way in the Thames Valley. We are going to see how that goes and we will make an announcement at the end of the summer.

Administrator KPMG had put Dolphins assets up for sale after it failed to find a buyer for the company. London Buses could take on part of Dolphins network and KPMG said it was close to finding a buyer for the rest of Dolphins infrastructure assets.

Dolphin went into administration on March 26 and we brought about a significant sale on June 18 said Richard Heis administrator and partner at KPMG.

Initially we did try to sell it as an all-in-one solution. We came pretty close but some of the interested parties had difficulties with the money while others saw problems elsewhere.

He went on: It is by no means a dead option and there are still various things we can do with the Tatra equipment. We are hopeful that a deal will still be done and we are in close discussions with one party.

Dolphin distributors remain confident they can switch Dolphin customers to other wireless services.

They have been delighted with the service said Tom Quigley managing director of Dolphin distributor Airsys. Sadly there werent enough customers to make it a viable business.

He went on: The market shows that there is a need for Dolphin but not enough of a need to justify the level of investment. For us its just one of those things.

We will provide Dolphin customers with other solutions and enjoy the profits from the alternatives. There are cellular and private radio networks. Solutions will be found on a case-by-case basis. Were talking to Dolphins customers who remain philosophical said Quigley.

Dolphin launched in August 1999 on the promise of cheap push-to-talk services and mobile telephony in one handset.

It went into administration two years later after accumulating debts of $1.2 billion. The firm came back out of administration when specialist wireless operator Inquam eventually bought the business and its assets for 25 million.

The UK operation that Inquam acquired then included a 45000 customer base a number of offices including the headquarters in Basingstoke a network that covered 93 per cent of the UK population and more than 1000 base stations.

By April this year however the customer base was down to 24000 and base station numbers to 980.

Inquam Telecom too went into administration earlier this year as it had been unable to develop the business as it wished.

Unique Games the content arm of Unique Distribution has signed a content deal with North American mobile games publisher and developer Sorrent which distributes games from Atari Fox Sports and others.

The deal gives Unique the chance to distribute the anticipated Atari game Driv3r. More than 12 million units of Driver and Driver 2 have been sold worldwide.

Unique Games technical director Mark Watts said:

Titles such as Driv3r highlight Uniques commitment to providing consumers with quality titled games for mobile gaming. The agreement with Sorrent ensures we are at the forefront of the mobile games industry.

Genesis currently has around 60000 Vodafone customers on its base. Vodafone is believed to be apprehensive about the close ties between Genesis and O2 and the revised contract is believed to have closed loopholes that might have let the SP move users to O2.

Dixons head of press and PR Hamish Thompson commented:

There is no change to either the level or the extent of the service that we provide to customers. From a customer level absolutely nothing has changed.

Thompson would not discuss the specific detail of the contract as it was commercially sensitive saying only: I am not in a position to discuss contractual negotiations. The long-term contractual agreement remains the same.

Vodafone declined to comment on the new relationship between the two organisations.

There has been much industry speculation on the relationship between Genesis and Vodafone with rumours that Vodafone was on the brink of buying Genesis.

Another rumour was that Genesis was running up to 9000 GSM gateways without authorisation from Vodafone.

Gateway devices are becoming popular in the SME and corporate marketplace. They convert a fixed-to-mobile call into a mobile-to-mobile termination allowing fixed-line phones to connect to the mobile network at prices lower than normally charged by networks.

Dealers report that 40 per cent of their connections are on 3 up from 10 per cent three months ago reports James Blackman.

But the growth driver is not advanced 3G video services but voice calls – largely at the expense of Orange.

Consumers are still not persuaded by 3s 3G offering despite massive increases in 3 connections dealers indicate.

The vast majority of customers are coming to 3 for the handset and the cheap voice package said Mark Whitaker of Findaphone in Accrington.

Customers arent that impressed by 3s services yet. It will take them a long time before they switch to 3 because of its multimedia services.

He added that 3 was now up to around 40 per cent of his total business and it was growing fast.

On Saturday alone we did seven upgrades on 3 and over the past week weve done almost 30 connections with most switched from Orange said Whittaker.

The spike in 3 connections has coincided with the launch of the LG u8110 on 3 in May.

Dealers say that for the first time they have been able to promote a 3 handset that compares well to a GSM phone.

The 3G services arent a huge factor admitted Bob Sweetlove business manager at 3 distributor Hugh Symons. The consumer wants a cameraphone but not 3G services. The LG competes with any 2.5G kit that is available.

Gary Bridger of Airwaves Communications in Yeovil said:

Customers are coming to 3 because of the cheap tariffs. It will take 18 months before customers take on 3 because of its 3G services. They switch to 3 because its value for money.

Matt Chambers of The Phone Shop in Welling said:

3 made up 10 per cent of our business six months ago. Its now up to around 40 per cent. The tariff packages get people interested. Anyone with a year-old phone wont think twice about switching to the LG.

Surrey-based dealership ETC Communications reports steady 3 growth at the expense of Orange.

In March ETC connected 100 customers to 3 compared with 1235 for Orange. That month total 3 connections for March were 8.1 per cent the total number of

Orange connections.

But in May ETC connected 170 customers to 3 and 737 customers to Orange. The first week in June showed total 3 connections of 109 compared with 384 Orange connections – showing its share had risen to 28.4 per cent.

There has been a significant shift in business from 3 to Orange in the past month-and-a-half said ETC sales manager Andy Harding. There are many reasons for it.

These include good commissions which since the LG u8110 superseded 3s old handset portfolio include upgrade commissions.

We are very positive about the way that 3 is behaving. All dealers should be looking to push 3. They are supporting us on 3s upgrade policy. This is the way Orange started. Youd be a fool to write 3 off.

3 accepted that the deciding factor for the consumer when switching to 3 is not its 3G services yet but interest in 3G will grow following awareness of the technologys benefits.

The thing that drives consumers to switch is what they already understand which means pricing and the form factor of handsets said a 3 spokesperson. It doesnt mean that services are incidental to those factors.

North London-based distributor Avenir Telecom UK is to increase its sales team from eight dealer managers to 12.

It is also increasing the number of sales executives from six to 12 and the number of corporate sales managers from two to six.

The move comes as the company was confirmed as having become 3s largest distributor for the first quarter of the year. Avenir also represents Vodafone O2 Orange and T-Mobile.

Avenir Telecom UK sales and marketing director Tanny Price said:

As well as experiencing significant and sustained growth across all five networks we are putting a strong emphasis on developing new business. In particular we are looking to widen our rapidly growing base of independent dealers.

We have already set the recruitment wheels in motion. Growth however will also go hand-in-hand with further improving the service we provide to our customers.

Dealer managers and sales executives will now operate across smaller geographical areas and be able to work in greater depth with each customer concentrating in particular on individual services and products.

Tomo chairman Richard Emanuel has altered his original vision for a nationwide chain of retail outlets.

Tomo last week opened two new stores in Emanuels hometown Glasgow creating 50 new jobs.

These are much smaller than Tomos existing stores in Nottingham and East Kilbride. Although expansion is on the agenda the chain dismisses the idea that it will establish a UK-wide presence in the near future.

Our approach now is a case of suck it and see said a Tomo spokesman.

The idea of a national chain is still there it will just be a more slow and measured approach. The north of England is definitely next on the agenda but if the markets not ready we wont race ahead.

The market isnt as it was in the 1990s. Richard [Emanuel] forecast a 3G revolution but the roll-out of 3G services has been slower than he anticipated. The industry is more sophisticated now. Theres no point trying to create a national chain if the markets not ready for it.

The two new stores are in the same location as two of Emanuels former DX Communications outlets. As well as reducing the scale and rate of Tomos projected expansion Emanuel has decided to reduce the size of the new stores compared with Tomos vast retail spaces in Nottingham and Kilbride.

We have refined the original model from two years ago said the spokesperson.

The original idea was that we would open Tomo stores that were three or four times the size of existing mobile phone outlets.

The Nottingham store has the highest footfall in the country after Oxford Street in London. But in other UK streets such stores wouldnt be viable.

The two new stores in Glasgow are significantly smaller than the other Tomo stores but theyre already doing fantastic business. Richard knows what works and what doesnt work and these smaller stores do work.

We have retained the concept of highly trained staff with a real passion for the industry.