BT said that it was receiving 21000 complaints per month from customers about the sales tactics of rival landline companies.

BT issued proceedings against CCL in May for infringement of registered trademarks and for passing off after it claimed that CCL salespeople had misled customers into thinking that the company was in some way connected to BT.

In an out-of-court settlement last week BT received 150000 towards costs and damages and an undertaking from CCL that it would not infringe BTs trademark.

BT group managing director Gavin Patterson said: BT is pleased that a settlement has been reached for this legal claim. We are still concerned about the level of mis-selling in the telecommunications industry and we are prepared to take similar action against other communication providers if they confuse customers in this way and cause damage to BTs brand.

Caudwell Group managing director Tim Whiting said: After a thorough investigation in CCL it became clear that certain third-party operators acting on behalf of CCL were not following strict guidelines set down by us. The business moved swiftly to remove the third-party suppliers from the supply chain and to correct any wrongdoing to the small number of customers affected. We are pleased to have worked with BT to resolve the situation without the need of court intervention.

A BT spokesman added: It is not about the money. 150000 is a significant sum but the statement from CCL shows that someone else has agreed that this is happening. See Business Watch page 14

Lea told Mobile News that Fone Logistics managing director Gillespie had sacked him for gross misconduct two months after Lea had handed in his notice and gone on gardening leave.

Lea explained:

I resigned on June 6 due to differences of opinion with the management team. I handed in 12 months notice to take time to decide what I would do next. I have since been sacked for gross misconduct. Ian has made several allegations against me. My lawyers are dealing with it.

I am being followed. Ian has built up a case against me over the past two months so that I dont get another job in this industry and so he doesnt have to pay me any more. I have been closely involved in this industry for a long time and I am going to come back fighting. I am not short of job offers.

I have to sort out the restrictive covenants first but they have stopped paying me now so as far as I am concerned they have broken the contract.

Gillespie said: This is a company matter. My professional advisers have told me to not to say anything. So I must say no comment.

See White Lines page 48

A 3 spokesperson said: It means we have added another handset vendor to our portfolio. We have secured the deal on a global basis across the entire 3 group which says a lot about how Hutchison uses economies of scale to keep costs down.

3 UK CEO Bob Fuller said: Were seeing strong competition among manufacturers to deliver the most exciting 3G handsets. This is good for 3 the manufacturers and 3s customers.

The video mobiles available in the market in the second half of this year are comparable in size and weight to GSM phones but come with the full range of video mobile features.

Sony Ericsson corporate executive vice president and head of sales and marketing Jan Wareby said:

During 2004 global subscriptions to 3G services almost doubled.

We are building our

3G portfolio to support this growthThe K608i is a classic addition to the family that consumers will immediately find appealing and intuitive.

3 claims it now has over eight million customers across the globe.

There was no official announcement about 3G from Virgin Mobile but its web site now lets customers check if their postcode is within 3G coverage. It states:

3G is available to customers who have a 3G compatible Virgin Mobile phone… Virgin Mobile phones that are 3G compatible and are used in areas of 3G network coverage will be able to view Bites and download games and ringtones even faster than before… Right now 3G coverage is available in major UK cities and were working on getting coverage in other towns as we speak.

A Virgin Mobile spokesperson confirmed:

We have the Nokia 6630 on sale which is a 3G-enabled phone. So customers who pick up that phone can now get 3G. You can get Bites content at a higher speed but you cant get any specific 3G services yet. We will continue to introduce 3G handsets to our range. I cant confirm a date for the full 3G launch yet.

3G data rates are currently the same as normal GPRS costs.

Premtel provides a full range of services from premium-rate phone numbers SMS and MMS subscription and messaging services through to complex call routing virtual office systems and automated order lines.

The company which was founded by David Prosser and Neil Scotchbrook in 2003 also offers advertising and web site design.

Which? said that one in seven mobile phones develops a fault within its first year on average following a poll of 2500 UK phone users. It found that 3 was the least reliable network with almost one third of its customers complaining of faults in the first 12 months.

Motorola marketing manager James King said:

Once a handset is in the market there are so many things that affect it from the kind of usage to which a device is submitted to the negative backlash of being associated with a network. One of the operators had more issues [than others]. Because we are one of the few suppliers to that operator we have got a bad rap. It isnt reflective of Motorola as a whole.

A 3 spokesperson said: Which? has taken a sample size that is not representative. It has spoken to 50 of our customers when we have a customer base of three million. The other thing is that you cant possibly compare text- and picture-messaging GSM phones with the new and complex technology available on 3G handsets.

Which? magazine principal researcher Pete Tynan said:

There is no way that we would recommend Motorola or Sony Ericsson handsets or the 3 network to any consumer. It is staggering. Around 600000 phones are going wrong every year and those customers dont receive the right help.

Tynan added: It is a statistically valid sample. Any number over 30 gives you a valid sample. And when almost a third have a problem then it sends out a very clear signal.

Other UK network operators dismissed the report.

A statement from Vodafone said: Over 90 per cent of the population in the UK now have some sort of mobile phone in a market which is extremely competitive between network operators and the mobile phone manufacturers.

At the end of the day a phone that doesnt work cannot make money for us so it is in our best interest to sell a fault-free handset. Whenever problems occur we seek to solve them for our customers as soon as possible.

An Orange statement said: We offer a 14-day no-quibble money-back policy. Additionally we offer a policy that in the event that a mobile phone is faulty an Orange customer can return the phone to the Orange shop they bought it from within 28 days to exchange it. These policies are in addition to customers statutory rights.

The network added: The recent Which? report fails to make the distinction between a network operator and a handset manufacturer and doesnt address whether when a customer has had a problem with their handset the problem was resolved by Orange.

Tynan responded: Customers get passed between the network the manufacturer and the insurance company. But it is up to the retailers – both the high street chains and the networks own stores – to sort this problem out. If they have problems with certain manufacturers they should stop selling them.

The CWU was still to engage in a final round of talks with O2 over its pay offer to CWU members. The decision on whether to serve notice of industrial action against the network depending on how the talks went this week will be announced today.

CWU lead negotiator Dave Johnson was not hopeful that both sides could reach an agreement.

O2 has attempted to resolve some of the problems but has not so far showed sufficient willing for us to change our position said Johnson. We dont want to go down the road of industrial action but we are not going to hold our breath.

CWU members rejected O2s pay offer by a margin of 24 to one last week. The CWU balloted 3700 members and recommended they reject O2s latest pay package which it claims would freeze the basic pay of half the workforce for seven years and link that of the other half to unattainable performance targets.

The CWU claimed a 76 per cent turnout with 96 per cent voting to reject the offer.

All calls were re-routed to 3s contact centre in Glasgow normally reserved for business customer enquiries.

Thirty-seven inches of rain fell in a single day July 26 in Mumbai killing nearly 900 people.

Staff at 3s Mumbai contact centre which also takes calls from Hutchison Whampoa customers in Australia were unable to get to work for a week.

UK customers were redirected to 3s Glasgow office and Hutchison Whampoa briefed Avarto its third-party logistical support agency to take calls though it was not needed.

A 3 spokesperson said: The conditions made travel in the city very difficult and many of our team in the contact centre were unable to get into the office. We mobilised additional support quickly to ensure our level of service was maintained at this difficult time and we could answer customer calls.

The call centre team in Glasgow were taking first-line enquiries and Avarto was briefed to provide additional back-up if required. Were pleased that our level of service was maintained for customers and Mumbai is now back online.

See Mystery Caller page 32

Intec is geared to being a large-volume business said Intec managing director Harry Ramis.

When Vodafone moved some of its volumes out it was a wake-up call particularly on costs he added candidly. We replaced much of that volume but we need to re-shape. Joining forces with Fonebak can only help.

Ramis has stayed on as managing director and insists there will be no changes to the structure of the business or to staff.

The decision to sell means we can keep our management structure intact. I like the idea of being a part of the continued success of Intec Group and Fonebak.

Without the management and trained staff Intec would just be another repair centre he said.

We were determined to maintain our high service levels and find a safe harbour for all of our team. The ability to provide on- and off-shore services allows us that opportunity.

Intec and Fonebaks relationship began when Intec provided Fonebak with technical assistance and consultancy on testing and repairing handsets in Romania. A chance meeting in January led to discussions he said.

I have always got on well with (Fonebak CEO) Kathy Woodward and knew that she had an interest in adding a UK warranty repair business he said.

Over the past two years there have been several parties interested in acquiring Intec but this deal was for the right terms at the right time. This move gives Intec a competitive edge allowing us to offer our customers a more flexible solution.

He added: Offshore repair and refurbishment services will provide a low-cost alternative on non-time critical units and provides us with another option to offer our customers complementing our existing UK warranty repairs.

The public often dont understand their rights or how valuable a shot might be. They sign away the universal rights to a picture for a nominal flat fee. It could then be syndicated around the world.

Scoopt members retain copyright to their photographs and receive half every licensing and syndication deal. Members submit pictures by MMS to a shortcode or they can e-mail them via a PC.

(See Comment).