Seven B2B specialists have been recruited to the programme boosting the team to 12. Mainline is in the process of recruiting three others.

The programme dubbed Business Mobile provides dealers with a business toolkit of sales and marketing activities and commercial incentives. The aim is to assist dealers to grow their Orange business within the SME market.

Mainline marketing head Gail Hollinshead said the necessity for extra staff reinforced the success achieved by the original members of the programme over the past 12 months. The group deals with 46000 SME customers and sells around 185000 handsets a year.

We have developed a comprehensive range of sales and marketing activities for the dealer to choose from each of which is specifically tailored and suits their budget and priorities said Hollinshead.

Each activity is undertaken on the dealers behalf – allowing them to concentrate on growing their business. The programme includes a fully supported web site e-mail campaigns trade and local public relations a full tariff analysis service appointment setting with sector-based data additional incentives plus stationery and proposal templates.

Orange accreditation gives them added credibility in the market and helps to secure business added Hollinshead.

Our direct and ongoing involvement in support activity allows dealers to focus on sales. We look to hit specific market sectors that will provide us with the customer profile and handset volumes that our dealers want to target.

Hollinshead says that in return for this support Mainline expects participating dealers to be dedicated and committed to the programme. However she pointed out that they do not have to be solus Orange.

The dealers involved receive a significant number of leads from Business Mobile and that is reflected in the increase in Orange connections she says.

Tesco is expected to start offering contracts over its web site in the next few weeks. It will then begin trialling the service at some test stores before the end of the year. Dedicated in-store stands will give shoppers the chance to sign up to a contract there and then.

Tescos move into contracts is separate from Tesco Mobile the MVNO that uses the O2 network to offer two low flat-rate pre-pay tariffs: Tesco Mobile Tariff (handset and SIM) and Tesco Mobile Value tariff (SIM only).

Tesco Mobile has picked up more than 750000 subscribers since its launch two years ago. It is thought this success has given the supermarket giant the confidence to chase similar success with contract customers.

Tesco Telecoms spokesperson Joanna Kinloch said: Weve been looking at offering contracts since launch. We are still investigating all the different routes with mobile networks and distributors. Nothing has been finalised yet.

The network source said that Dextra would be supplying the airtime for all five networks in Tesco stores as well as online.

The potential revenue stream is huge. Its rivals will be gutted to miss out on this said the source.

In the past 12 months Dextra and 4U Airtime have won business from other multiples such as Boots Jessops Morrison and Asda. These contracts now boosted by Tesco mean Dextra and 4U are dominating the multiples channel.

Mark Ormerod group managing director of Dextra and 4U declined to be drawn on whether the Tesco contract had been signed but didnt rule it out.

We continue to build our relationship with Tesco he said. We have supplied a number of product ranges into Tesco stores for some years and the relationship continues to flourish. I cant comment about any airtime contract.

He admitted: My presence may have been a hindrance to the recovery because there is still some contention about the administration. Some people are still blaming me for the collapse. My being part of the executive was leaving a bad smell. Also my heart was just no longer in it. But it is a wrench to leave.

Dawe plans to set up another company focusing on new technology. He said: I have no intention of building another Unique or working for a competitor. I will be starting a niche business in a new area.

Unique chairman John McFarnon said: The recovery of Unique since its takeover in April of this year has been beyond all expectations. [Unique co-founder] Rob Lees and I supported by the strong management team we have assembled are totally focused on continuing the companys outstanding progress to date.

Founder and MD Peter Carnall said this week that all its accounts were in order. He claimed that banks have a blanket policy of closing down small business accounts instead of reviewing each trader on a case-by-case basis. Such activity was handing power to big companies in the sector said Carnall.

We have held accounts for both our distribution business and our software business with the Bank Of Scotland he said. Our software business has had its accounts closed and it isnt even involved in the purchase and sale of mobile phones.

Companies like 20:20 Unique and Fone Logistics have an increased monopoly in the industry because the banks wont deal with anybody else. Theres a great possibility given the stigma surrounding the mobile phone sector that other banks will not be interested in us. It will jeopardise the future of the business.

The introduction of The Proceeds Of Crime Act in 2003 means that bank staff can be made liable if they fail to report fraudulent activity by business customers.

Butler and co-founder Martin Flick sold Axxent for 2.7 million last August. Butler stayed on as divisional director and Flick as sales director.

However following this weeks announcement that Azzurri has acquired mobile consultancy company DVH Group Butler decided to hand in his resignation. He will stay at the business until the end of January.

When we were acquired by Azzurri I planned to stay on but as time went on my motivation changed Butler said. My heart is in building a business. I want to be the guy at the front – at Azzurri I was one of the minions.

Butler admitted that he had been planning to leave for some time. We have been discussing for the past six months that if the right acquisition came along Id leave and we have found that in DVH.

On his departure Butler will have to take three months gardening leave but said that he intends to remain in the mobile industry. Id like to start something up he said.

It cant be in direct competition with Azzurri but we are parting on very good terms so it would be nice to do something where we could work together in the future.

Under the terms of the acquisition which is Azzurris fourteenth in five years Flick will replace Butler as divisional director. He said: Its no secret that Azzurri is on a buying strategy. We were looking for a like-minded business. As part of that we spoke to DVH and the fit was right. Its a very aggressive timely move that further strengthens our mobile division.

DVH which is based in New Malden has an annual turnover of 3.5 million and employs 31 staff. It provides mobile voice and data solutions to clients including Land Securities and Bovis Homes.

Former DVH sales director Simon Price will join the Azzurri mobile division as sales director and former DVH managing director Ben Orchard will join as finance and operations director.

Commenting on the sale Price said there would be no personnel changes. The only likelihood is that we will merge our mobile offices but given that we are located six miles away that shouldnt pose any problem he said.

Price added that he believed DVH clients would benefit from the sale. A major attraction for us was the support and expertise that will now be available within the Azzurri Group and we know that both our staff and clients will truly benefit from this he said.

It is understood as many as 2000 existing 3 customers were signed to new 3 contracts through Hugh Symons by the distance resellers.

Karl May of MK Mobiles in Manchester told Mobile News: 3 switched off around 40 dealers last weekend because they werent delivering the right quality business. There are lots of dealers out there that are box-breaking and doing cash back.

Lino Mastrobono of Wolverhampton dealership Smart Talk Communications Centre added:

3 switched off the distance resellers who were claiming to be from 3 and churning them back on to the same network. I understand that 2000 of these connections could have gone through Hugh Symons. Its great news for us. I have no sympathy for these guys. They are causing independent dealerships trouble by giving us a bad name.

3 included a warning to dealers in its dealer newsletter last week. This warned dealers against the practice of disconnections and reconnections and said that anyone breaking the rules would have their dealer status reviewed.

A 3 spokeswoman said: We are getting tough with anyone who doesnt play ball. This is business as usual. We have an ongoing commitment to reviewing the performance of dealers and relationships. If dealers are not performing to the KPIs we set down then we will review that relationship.

A TV advertisement made for the company by Martikas Advertising to promote its PopVid club downloading service featured an offer of a free music video.

Large text said: Get a free official music video direct to your phone. Alongside this were the words subscription service. However a viewer complained that the advisory was partly off the screen and so unreadable.

The ASA ruled that although Martikas had repositioned the advisory it was still unclear that users would have to subscribe to take advantage of the offer.

It said: We considered the ad implied viewers could get a single one-off music video for free by texting the number on the screen. We did not consider the reference to a club or the text references to a subscription were sufficient to alter that impression.

The ASA has instructed Martikas to withdraw the ad from the air in its present form.

Many delegates told us they feel HM Revenue & Customs is at war with them said Ian White editor of Mobile News.

They say they are being singled out because the authorities are unable to stop the real criminals. Ironically it is the inability of EU governments to collect tax from each other which gives the real crooks their loophole.

The presence of a BBC TV Panorama investigation team at our conference suggests the wider public interest may be at risk here he said.

The sense of persecution was emphasised by Mike Cheatham of Bond House the computer components brokers caught up in a landmark legal case that will decide the legality or otherwise of Customs VAT recovery regime on EU trade.

There is a war out there with Customs. The only way to sort this problem is for Customs to change its mindset he said.

Cheatham claimed HM Revenue & Customs could stop fraudulent trading overnight either establishing a base rate of VAT on all goods passing between EU countries or by implementing a system he had developed himself. But he said he was not going to reveal details of his solution to Customs until he was sure it had altered its view that the trading market exists only for purposes of fraud.

Meanwhile leading VAT solicitor Hassan Khan warned conference delegates not to hold their breath hoping for a defeat for the Government in the Bond House case that would re-write the rules on cross-border tax accounting and possibly leave the way open for traders to sue for compensation due to withheld VAT refunds.

I hope we win. But we have had five judges from five countries who have been taking a year to deliberate on the case and are still undecided since the Advocate Generals opinion. That must sound an alarm bell. It will not be over until the European Court of Justices opinion is out.

See full report page 24

Gordon Ballantyne director of T-Mobile direct maintains the move did not represent a strategy shift for T-Mobile despite the fact that the network shut down 20 solus dealers in March and April as part of its Europe-wide Save For Growth programme.

At the beginning of the year we conducted a review of our retail capacity to focus on the profitable parts within our retail portfolio said Ballantyne.

If you look at our existing footprint in the UK it is not as big as it should be. We now have the opportunity to build a very robust retail business. We will always have store openings and closures.

T-Mobiles retail footprint will double in size by the end of 2006 and increase to more than 300 in 2007. The new openings will see the network increase its number of retail staff by 1200.

But Nick Childs lead organiser at the Communication Workers Union said the decision showed that T-Mobiles original strategy was wrong.

It seems ridiculous because it has just closed down 20 stores and made around 85 sales staff redundant said Childs. It obviously realised that its strategy was wrong.

Dan Biesler research analyst at Ovum added:

T-Mobile got it wrong. This is a reversal of its strategy and a similar reversal has already happened in Germany.

T-Mobile hasnt grasped the importance of customer services and its brand has suffered. That has to be put right.

Commenting on the decision an Alcatel spokesperson said: Alcatel is exiting mobile handset activity. TCL will use the Alcatel brand because that is part of the agreement. All handsets will be produced in China. Eighty staff will be kept on as distribution agents for TCL and the remaining 280 employees will be assimilated into the rest of the Alcatel operation.

Alcatel exchanged its 45 per cent stake in the TCL joint venture for a five per cent stake in its communications division TCL Communications. Following the move TCL has merged its two mobile handset businesses as TCL Communications.

Alcatel leaves the TCL tie-up after nine months with a huge loss of investment and know-how on its initial stake. Alcatel contributed e45m for 45 per cent of the business last August. It also brought to the table its brand and intellectual property both of which it gives up following the sale.

The Alcatel joint venture lost e26m last year of which Alcatel took a 45 per cent share.

Our own activity in handset production was making huge losses so the solution we found in August 2004 was a way to avoid closing the company down altogether the spokesman added.

We were very close to doing this. The joint venture was a way of tying it to a major player in China. But because of the high competition in the Chinese market and the lack of synergies between France and China it was not easy to make profits and the situation got worse.

Julien Grivolas an analyst at Ovum said: The loss-making and limited market share worldwide were clearly not appealing.