The Trading Without Tears conference is now almost sold out with fewer than 25 places remaining.

Topics to be discussed and debated include the current state of law regarding Joint and Several Liability and security requirements the Proceeds of Crime Act and reporting requirements due diligence: keeping the VAT man happy how to deal with Customs queries and investigations how to minimise exposure to a VAT liability the future for legitimate traders Customs criminal prosecutions methods banking issues and the extent of personal liability.

We always knew the industry needed an event to give clarification on VAT law and Customs and Revenue methods. The rate at which the conference has nearly sold out demonstrates the massive demand for clarity on these complex issues said Mobile News editor Ian White

See the ad on page 33 to book

Henry admitted that Orange-owned distributors had suffered at times and said that starting next year Orange would put in place a benefits package to reflect their status as Orange solus dealers.

Orange dealers and distributors have nowhere to go other than Orange so if Orange lets them down were stuffed said Henry.

We have to redress that relationship. There are some tangible benefits – like stock allocation promotional activity brand spend – for them related to where they sit in the pecking order. That will be redressed early next year.

It hasnt been decided and it is still an internal programme he added. But we recognise that the Orange solus dealers are at risk and are more exposed than others when we put deals into the market place and therefore they will be protected.

Orange dealers are under immense pressure but there is still a place for them.

See interview page 24

Though it will cost punters 50p to upload a video clip to 3s new See Me TV channel each time a clip is downloaded by a 3 customer the original owner gets paid 1p. It costs 10p to view clips.

We wanted to create the ultimate reality channel commented 3 COO Gareth Jones.

The only limit to what you can earn is your talent – or the lengths youll go to make an impression.

3 has struck a deal with MobiTV to offer seven new TV channels available for 5 a month including CNN Extreme Sports ITN and Cartoon Network. 3 is also set to launch its own free-to-view mobile TV channel featuring original programming and news updates.

3 said that every audio track its customers download to mobile handsets will also be made available online at no extra charge. Tracks are 1.50 as either over-the-air or online downloads.

3 also said it had secured video exclusives with Madonna The Pussycat Dolls and James Blunt. Staines band Hard-Fi are working with 3 on a made-for-mobile music video for their track Cash Machine.

3 also said that it is set to unlock single-source advertising as a revenue stream and is looking for a partner to sell advertising space on its network.

According to 3 CEO Bob Fuller: The previous distinctions between the media technology and communications industries have all but disappeared. An entirely new type of company is emerging that blurs the boundaries between all three.

3 also confirmed the launch of four new handsets this week: the Nokia 6280 Nokia N70 LG U880 and the Motorola RAZR V3x.

That is the day when European Court advocate general Poiares Maduro will give his opinion on a case brought against HM Revenue and Customs by the Federation of Technological Industries (FTI).

Part of the legal process involves an oral submission. This was heard in the European Court on October 5. Oral submissions were made by HM Revenue & Customs the Irish government the European Commission and the FTI legal team. The latter was led by Andrew Young and Alias Dass of Dass Solicitors who are speakers at the forthcoming Mobile News VAT Legislation conference (see page 33).

The governments of Germany Cyprus Netherlands and Portugal had made written submissions but did not attend the oral hearing.

The FTI argued the Government had no authority under EU law to impose joint and several liability rules making them responsible for the VAT debts of their suppliers. UK Customs and the Government of Ireland argued there was authority.

Figueroa currently holds the same role for Latin America and the Caribbean. He will focus on driving sales and business strategies effectively across both regions for the Networks business.

It makes perfect sense to centralise customer relationships and work more closely across the two regions on account strategy he said.

He will be based at Motorolas EMEA regional headquarters in Basingstoke.

Figueroa assumes the role following the promotion of Margaret Rice-Jones to corporate vice-president and general manager of Core Networks a newly-aligned business within Motorola Networks covering communications technologies for both wired and wirefree operators.

Rice-Jones will be responsible for strategic planning development engineering third-party relationships product management and customer support.

Core network solutions must go beyond traditional legacy switching and address multiple access technologies data and video and multimedia requirements she said.

It is compatible with all Symbian-enabled handsets and will work on Java and Microsoft by the end of the year.

ROK marketing manager Bruce Renny said ROK was about to launch with a major high street multiple and a major online phone retailer though he declined to say which ones.

Renny claimed the proposition represented an opportunity for independent dealers.

We are offering some great sales incentives and will pay commission for every subscriber they get to sign up he said. On top of that we will provide point-of-sale material so that dealers can promote the service in-store.

Renny claimed ROK TV outshone rivals. Orange TV is only available on 3G so effectively it is a niche market and O2 has only just started its DVB-H trial. Our goal is to ensure that ROK TV will work on 80 per cent of every handset sold in 2006.

The payment will be made in two stages with a 6 million initial cash offer plus a further 5 million to be paid depending on ICBs future profitability.

ICB targets SMEs along the M4 corridor operating as a mobile service provider for Vodafone and O2. It reported gross profits of 4.5 million in the year to April 30 2005 on revenues of 14.8 million.

Alternative Networks CEO James Murray claimed the combination of ICBs sales force and the strong ARPU from both fixed and mobile customers made a compelling argument for the acquisition. He also predicted it would enhance earnings in the first year.

We have known ICB as a regional competitor for several years and believe the business will integrate well with Alternative Networks said Murray.

We continue to seek further suitable acquisitions as we implement our balanced strategy of organic and acquisitive growth.

Alternative was understood to be in the frame to buy Anglia Telecom in March alongside The Carphone Warehouse. Anglia was eventually sold by parent company TTG Europe to Symphony Telecom for around 10 million.

The network has teamed up with handset insurance provider CPP fonesafe and the police to educate consumers about the benefits of signing up to the National Mobile Phone Register launched by the National Mobile Phone Crime Unit.

The roadshow kicks off in Newcastle tomorrow (October 22) and will move to all T-Mobile stores in Birmingham Sheffield Liverpool Leeds Manchester and Glasgow over the following six weeks.

Home Office statistics show that around 50 per cent of street crime is linked to mobile phone theft. The campaign aims to register more handsets on the National Mobile Phone Register giving police the ability to track stolen phones and link them to phone thieves.

A T-Mobile spokeswoman said: Parents should be aware of the pros and cons of allowing their children to use mobile phones. It is essential that mobile phone users are aware of this database and ensure that they are registered as all CPP fonesafe and T-Mobile customers are.

Motorola said that the acquisition of Sendos R&D team and patent portfolio in June as well as the relocation of its mobile division to larger offices in Basingstoke this month showed that UK growth continued. It is understood that UK job cuts have been insignificant.

We havent broken the figures down by country claimed EMEA director of communications Mark Durrant. Staff that have been affected have been informed already so the filing to the SEC was not new to them.

The headcount wont necessarily go down anyway because of the acquisitions including the Sendo R&D facility in the UK an i-mode development team in France and lots of engineering and manufacturing elements.

The global job cuts will result in pre-tax costs for Q3 of around $70 million ( 40 million) in severance charges and $20 million in asset impairments.

Finnish manufacturer Benefon develops GSM/GPS devices with integrated navigation and location services. New Benefon CEO Jonathan Bate said that it would launch one handset before Christmas and a further three devices next year. Bate said that Benefon would soon launch a sub-brand that will appear on its devices alongside the Benefon brand.

Bate said: We will launch a prosumer device this quarter and consumer and mass-market devices next year. By next Christmas we hope to be much more visible in the consumer space. A new brand that will represent us as a navigation company will also launch in the next couple of weeks.

The distribution agreement between 20:20 and Benefon will see 20:20 provide warehousing and logistics inventory management and next-day delivery of Benefon products to operators retail outlets and large corporate users throughout the UK and Ireland.

20:20 managing director Rod Millar said: We have been working with Benefon for the past 12 months and have generated significant interest from operators retailers and corporate users. We expect to distribute more than 200000 units in the first year.

Benefon chairman Brian Katzen said: Our initial strategy called for aggressive penetration into the UK and China and thereafter mainland Europe and the US so we are on track.