The five includes a larger licence reserved for a new entrant into the market which will be allowed to roam onto Cellnet Vodafone Orange and One 2 One networks until its own is established. Third generation mobile phones will allow users to surf the Internet download music and pictures and hold wireless video conferences.

Orange and Ericsson have already started trials into the new technology.

The ability to roam onto GSM networks is critical for the success of any new UMTS operator said Ted Beddoes chief executive of mobile radio operator Dolphin Telecom.

Beddoes who was instrumental in setting up Vodafones network in 1985 explained:

With roaming any candidate who does not have an existing GSM or DCS 1800 network will have the opportunity to construct a viable business case for UMTS since they will be able to compete effectively against the incumbents.

The choice of five as the number of UMTS licences is also important for future competition. With four licences it is possible they would be secured by the four existing cellular networks.

With five there will be at least one new entrant. This will encourage new entrants to participate in the auction and stimulate competition to the benefit of the user.

However this report has been funded and published by a Swindon-based company called TecnoAO which is marketing for 29 an oscillator which emits a magnetic signal that boosts the bodys ability to overcome the harmful effects of non-thermal radiation.

TecnoAO chairman Anthony Fraser told Mobile News his company had funded a paper by Dr Gerard Hyland (senior lecturer in the department of Physics at the University of Warwick).

Hyland argues that the current safety guidelines on mobile phones are fundamentally flawed and in need of a complete rethink. He says it is wrong to only consider the heating effect of microwave radiation on body tissue and that exposure to magnetic fields can disrupt ions contained in human body proteins.

TecnoAO claims cellular phones are a major source of chronic electromagnetic stress for their users and that Chronic stress related to electromagnetic pollution manifests itself depending on the individual through a variety of ailments headaches memory loss insomnia irritability back pain decreases in concentration and alertness even including compromising immunological and hormonal states.

TecnoAO says its magnetic oscillator works because its magnetic oscillation acts as a tuning fork for the brain and maintains normal ion-protein links.

TecnoAO has also funded a Mori poll which said almost half of all mobile phone users are concerned about health risks from electromagnetic radiation.

The poll which was conducted among 2012 adults last month found 62 per cent of users questioned expressed interest in obtaining a product which might reduce potential health risks.

The Federation of the Electronics Industry (FEI) continues to maintain that the consensus among scientists is that there are no established health effects from using a mobile phone.

We continue to support quality peer-reviewed research openly shared with the public. It is important that anyone concerned about mobile phone safety considers the totality of the science rather than drawing conclusions from individual studies said the FEI.

Phones sold in the UK operate well below exposure guidelines which are set by the National Radiological Protection Board. The safety of mobile phone users continues to be supported by scientific evidence. Even though scientific consensus has not established cause for concern over the use of mobile phones on health grounds the industry willingly accepts its responsible to continue to add to the substantial body of knowledge. We are doing exactly this.

The crisis has been sparked by Cellnet re-considering its position on continuing its 200000 contribution after September. BT is apparently demanding that Cellnet justify the costs and says its own fraud investigators can do the same job.

The other networks all support the CPI but are unlikely to continue on their own. Cellnet and Vodafone contribute the lions share of the costs.

The Crime Prevention Inspectorate is currently funded until September 1999. But it requires financial commitments by all four networks to be in place by the end of June if the Scheme is to continue beyond that date.

The Scheme is very close to folding said a source close to the FCS.

If even one network pulls out there will be a massive dilution of its standing and efficacy. And anything that breakaway network was to go on to do on its own would not have a fraction of the weight behind it that the FCS Crime Prevention Inspectorate commands.

Cellnet spokesman William Ostrom said:

Speaking for Cellnet alone we were reluctant to commit significant additional resources to the FCS without having a stronger understanding about how the FCS would structure itself and deliver against the objectives that would inevitably accompany increased resources. Our only current involvement is in the FCS Crime Prevention initiative confirmed Ostrom.

Our commitment to crime prevention continues. Indeed we are committing more to it than ever before.

We will continue to give money to the Crime Prevention Inspectorate so long as it flexible and continues to be relevant when it comes to tackling the types of crime and fraud with which we see confronting all of us in the industry; networks SPs and dealers.

FCS manager James Malcolm said: As far as we are concerned the Crime Prevention Inspectorate is doing an excellent job and will continue to do so with valuable by-products in addition to the headline grabbing news.

But if the Scheme was to fold for whatever reason it would be disastrous for the industry.

The company will be run by John Gardiner and is currently in discussions with the networks about the technology. Trials of the system are currently taking place.

The idea is that dealers and retailers will be able to handle pre-pay voucher transactions through a PDQ-type terminal rather than having to stock the vouchers.

Over the last two years Banner has built up a strong management team and has given me the opportunity to look at the strategy of the group Gardiner said.

As the distribution of pre-pay vouchers has become a major headache I looked first at the problems and then the opportunities it offered. I felt it to be a major opportunity to the shareholders of Banner Telecom should that opportunity turn into a successful business.

Mike Sharpe and myself did not want the team at Banner to lose their focus on what they do very well which is the physical distribution of comms products (full story next issue).

The profits result was below forecasts and the City marked ETs shares down.Earnings were also hit by the company having to write off 200000 after a leading manufacturer (believed to be (Cont P2) Nokia) cut the price of its most popular handset. Apparently European Telecom had ordered a vast quantity of this model phone for an order which never materialised and left it without price protection on the stock.

Another 300000 disappeared from the bottom line after problems with the French subsidiary and its internal control difficulties and discrepancies.

Start-up losses with the Global Telematics joint venture (Racal is the other partner) were greater than expected. Although Global Telematicss fortunes have been given a lift by the winning of a 1 million contract to supply Parcel Force with vehicle tracking systems.

Our core business is sound and growing with sales increases now being achieved in the stable and profitable markets of Western Europe which including the UK now account for over 90 per cent of our turnover said European Telecom chairman and chief executive Warren Hardy

The admission comes in the details of Vodafone Groups year-end results which described the performance of the dealer market as mixed with a strong first half balanced by weaker growth in the second half as the growth of pre-paid services and new retailers affected the traditional distribution channels.

But connections from Vodafones own shops doubled the rate of the previous year.

Vodafone Group chief executive Chris Gent also debunked the myth that pre-pay customers are not as valuable as users on contracts.

Speaking at a press conference last week at the Savoy Hotel to announce the Groups latest financial results Gent said that Pay As You Talk customers were (Cont P14) proving more valuable than those who paid a years up-front line rental for all-in-one packages.

This was because purchasers of all-in-one boxes were certain to churn to another network once the year was up.

Churn on Pay As You Talk of 20.1 per cent was running lower than contract churn of 27.8 per cent. The latter had risen slightly as some contract customers reverted to pre-pay. Vodafone was earning average net revenue of 159 a year from pre-pay customers up 10.4 per cent on six months ago.

We have been having conversations with them. This doesnt mean that we are turning our back on our existing channel partners who are still absolutely vital to our future said One 2 One spokesman Ian Volans.

Virgin is interested in getting into the mobile market. They cant do it on their own. We have a wholesale proposition that prompted them to talk to us. Weve been having discussions with them as to how we can help them expand the market even further.

There isnt any firm launch date partly because of our ownership situation. Its difficult to go the last mile and make a commitment that our potential owners may have a view on.

Volans agreed that whatever the eventual deal was it wouldnt be a matter of Virgin slapping its own logo stickers on One 2 One boxes.

Virgin could come out with a new-type of service possibly integrated into its existing airline financial services and banking operations. The Group is known to be keen to embrace e-commerce and internet trading.

Virgin has also made no secret of the fact that it wants a UMTS licence to offer third generation broad-band services such as video and high-speed data. A deal with One 2 One would be a perfect way for Virgin to test the mobile telecoms waters.

World Tech was raided by police and FCS Crime Prevention Inspectorate officers in April. They seized 1500 mobile phones of which 600 were reported stolen.

The police have completed their enquiries into World Tech and decided to take no further action against Oyediwura and Joseph who have now been released from their bail conditions.

Property seized including around 900 phones will be returned to them.

Their solicitor David Munro of Williamson and Soden said:

My clients acted honestly throughout and kept proper business records in relation to their transactions. No matter how careful you are and even if you comply with FCS requirements as to business records you are at risk from plausible but dishonest traders. There are still large quantities of stolen equipment being offered in the market place said Munro.

The dispute is so serious that JWE issued a trading statement to the City warning the row with BTCellnet would hit its earnings for the year ended March.

JWEs shares plummeted on the news and at the time of going to press were languishing at 81p down from around 2.40 a year ago. The share price had been hit earlier this year by a previous trading statement warning that pre-pay had hit JWEs anticipated profit levels.

JWE chief executive Tony Farmer told Mobile News:

The trading statement was issued because in our position as a public company we have to alert the market to any potential under-performance in terms of our profit. We felt it right to alert the market to the fact that we are having the discussions we are with BTCellnet.

Some dealers say JWE is not the only service provider having problems with BTCellnet over ongoing revenue. Trade sources indicate JWEs problems with BTCellnet are connected with it selling part of its base to Cellnet last year for 200000.

One trade source who (Cont P2) follows JWE closely theorised that the dispute with BTCellnet was just a smoke screen for poor performance.

That sale boosted their profits for their first year as a public company. This years profits look less good because they have not replaced the business they sold with new business.

Their income has dropped considerably because of the sale to BTCellnet. They are saying they are in dispute when they are not in dispute at all.

This is an excuse for poor performance. They miscalculated the effect the sale of part of their base would have. Their problem now is once you lose credibility in the City its virtually impossible to get it back.

BTCellnet general manager for distribution Peter Gibbard said:

Its business as normal with JWE. We are carrying on normally. Ill have to leave any comment about outstanding issues to them. We didnt have anything to do with their press release.

The customer base of the business just sold is thought to be less than 6000 subscribers most of them corporate users. Destia was also attracted to the value-added services such as Tellular Phonecell SSX system which cuts corporate mobile calls by up to 71 per cent.

Destia provides domestic and international least-cost routing services in the USA and Europe.

With the acquisition (of Wave-tech) Destia has made significant steps towards completing the second stage of its plan to provide customers with a completely integrated billing system said Eli Katz managing director of Destia in the UK.

The third and final stage will be becoming an internet service provider. This will mean that customers will be able to receive just one bill for all their telecoms services fixed line wireless and internet.