Derbyshire dealer Richard Hunt of Phones Direct first alleged he had had his quarterly connection targets drastically cut by O2 and that the network was stopping him from using a distributor to make up the shortcomings.

Hunt claims O2 channel marketing manager Ian Driver said that by contacting Mobile News he had breached the trust of the dealer-network relationship and was having his dealership status terminated.

Driver absolutely refutes this offering the assurance that:

The suggestion that we would sack a dealer for speaking to the media is nonsense.

O2 has served a 90-day termination notice following a breakdown in the relationship. We have talked with him at some length about the issue of him connecting to O2 via routes in addition to his status as a direct O2 dealer.

The dealer has not accepted O2 policy. On this basis and despite a great deal of account management time being spent with him it was felt that the breakdown was irretrievable.

O2 UK sales director Mark Stansfeld added:

Its just not true. We would never sack a dealer for talking to the media. Listening to dealers complaints whether directly or through the press is all part of the open way in which we try to work.

Driver said that when a dealer sought other routes for connecting to O2 the network needed to be mindful of any consequential inefficiencies in its sales channels.

He added: O2 needs to keep these inefficiencies to a minimum. On that basis would not want a direct dealer also making connections to O2 via another supplier.

Hunt responded:

Ian Driver gave me a number of reasons for the termination. He said one of them was speaking to Mobile News which showed that I didnt trust O2. But why should I trust them if this is the way they act? I was told that the only reasons O2 would terminate a dealer were if he didnt make the connections and if he breached the terms of his dealer agreement.

I have always made the connections and havent breached the agreement terms. I have always been loyal to O2.

Hunt alleges that after terminating his dealership Driver required details of his customer database and instructed Hunt not to contact his customers for 12 months.

They want my business because they say I didnt trust them. I was told that if I was not happy with the original restriction in connections I could work through a distributor.

I was happy working with O2 direct and making up the connection shortfall through a third party. But I was told that I had to choose between one or the other.

I was reluctant to sever ties with O2 completely because I would lose my ongoing commission and the chance to earn more commission by upgrading existing customers.

Hunt says he is now consulting with his solicitor.

E-pay was set up in 1999 by John Gardiner and Paul Athasen. It claims to be the largest electronic payments processor of pre-paid mobile airtime top-up services in the UK and Australia with approximately 35 per cent and 75 per cent market share in each region respectively.

In the fourth quarter of 2002 e-pay generated net revenues of approximately $24 million and operating income of approximately $2.5 million. During this period the company processed approximately 15.7 million transactions up 214 per cent from five million transactions in the fourth quarter of 2001.

In 2002 the company processed approximately 42 million transactions up 281 per cent from 11 million transactions in 2001.

This acquisition is a huge step towards our goal of offering our products and services to the global market said Althasen.

Ironically Elite boss Ajay Gokani is a supporter of rivals Liverpool FC.

We have been bidding for the licence for the past four months. Manchester United licensed products will contribute a large part to the business he said.

Gokani is hoping the deal will allow Elite to sell licensed team mobile phone products in supermarkets that already handle other Manchester United goods.

For European sales Elite will appoint an agent in each European country.

A kerfuffle ensued when the funsters reached 3s shop where a team of over-enthusiastic 3 shop assistants asked them to move along but only succeeded in dislodging the Virgin Mobile-branded helium balloons which became stuck under the shops awning. Enjoy.

New rules drawn up by the Code of Advertising Practice (CAP) Committee say marketers using e-mail or SMS must state their messages are advertising in the subject bar.

Unsolicited e-mail marketing communications must now be clearly identifiable without the need to open the e-mail or attachments.

Unsolicited e-mail and SMS can only be sent to existing customers and only relating to a similar product already purchased by them. An opportunity to object must be offered.

Otherwise the explicit consent of consumers is required before sending marketing e-mail or SMS.

Marketers must identify whether consumers have asked not to receive marketing communications and whether they have had the opportunity to say that they dont.

Whellams will be responsible for developing new business with the networks. He was about to join Unique Distribution after turning down an initial offer from 20:20. But then 20:20 made him an offer he couldnt refuse.

Distribution is a tough business. I am looking forward to the challenge and hoping to develop new business with the contacts I gained while working for Trium he said.

Whellams was made redundant from Trium when owner Mitsubishi pulled out of the UK. His last deal was to sell a big shipment of Trium handsets to Unique Distribution.

Whellams says he is looking to encourage dealers to maximise sales of SIM-free handsets.

People dont realise the potential of sim-free sales. The Carphone Warehouse is one of the few retailers making the most of sim-free handset sales. Selling sim-free handsets is easier for retailers because the customer doesnt have to think about tariffs. With prices coming down SIM-free sales could boom he predicted.

However bonuses have been increased for managers at bigger stores. This is a deliberate move to encourage the companys best managers to aspire to work in its leading stores.

The bonus payment changes come as part of a wide-ranging pay review at The Carphone Warehouse.

Despite current market uncertainty with cost cuts inevitably coming from the networks in reaction to the Competition Commissions ruling we have made no commission cuts said a Carphone Warehouse spokeswoman.

Basic salary levels have actually increased three per cent for sales consultants and two per cent for store managers she added. There are also other elements in the pay review that allow employees to earn more.

One branch manager who declined to give his name said that the bonus cuts for the smaller stores could see some managers of small stores leaving.

Many store managers rely on their quarterly accelerator bonuses. The cuts now reduce our income by 2000 a year he said.

This follows the introduction last summer of a central IMEI database shared by all networks. This records any phone reported as stolen and renders it useless regardless of which network the user attempts to log on to and even if the SIM is changed.

This action is essential to meet the challenges of existing market conditions. We hope we can make the changes through voluntary redundancy and redeployment within the United Utilities group said Your Communications MD Hugh Logan.

Live! won Best Consumer Wireless Application for Service and Best Television or Broadcast Commercial while the live! handset the Sharp GX10 won the Best Wireless Handset Award.

The awards were presented by comedian Clive Anderson at the Palm Beach Casino.

After watching the clip of Vodafones TV ad Anderson noted it was out of date because David Beckham was now sporting a huge gash on his head (after the infamous incident with Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson) and because the London Undergrounds Central Line was not working (the ad shows someone standing on a London Underground train using a Vodafone live! handset).

Vodafone chief executive Sir Chris Gent picked up the GSM Association Chairmans Award in recognition and honour of his outstanding personal contribution to the growth and success of the global GSM industry over the past two decades.

Other Award winners included 3G LAB (Best Wireless Application Developer) Commtag for its Duality always-on e-mail application (Best Wireless Application or Service for Corporate Market) Entel PCS in Chile (Best Marketing Campaign) XIAM Ireland for its work with West Midlands Police (Best Use of Wireless for Accessibility) MTN Networks Sri Lanka for its SMS blood appeal matching and donor management application (Best Use of Wireless for Emergency Situations) and Telos Technology and Globecomm Systems Canada for Teloss packet switching technology (Best Infrastructure or Network Solution).