Generally we pay little attention to the supermarket prices and sell on our knowledge and after-sales services. I lost patience when I realised Tesco was selling the C12 for 49.99 when we pay between 42 and 51 from 20:20 said Phone Shop manager John Miller.

The Phone Shops advertisement appeared on the front page of the local newspaper and by 9.30am that morning three journalists had contacted the dealership. Press photographers also visited the shop.

The manager of the local Tesco store arrived around 9.45am looking particularly stern Miller said.

The story reached The Sun The Times and the front page of the Yorkshire Evening Post. It even featured in the Posts Comment page.

Tesco responded such competition was good for the consumer and mentioned a no-quibble guarantee on the phones it sold.

But Miller claims he gets a disillusioned Tesco phone customer in his shop at least once a day.

I challenged a member of Cellnets sales and marketing team to justify their policy. The response was an unbelievable we didnt know Tesco was going to sell the C12s just the Diga.

What did Cellnet think Tesco was going to do with the C12s. Stack them in a warehouse?

I worked for Cellnet for more than seven years helping to develop and nurture the dealer channel under the guidance of David Reavley and Mark Riley.

I have been loyal to Cellnet. In the last year though I find myself extolling the virtues of Orange as we know at least they wont be offering our customers cut-price upgrades and additional handsets.

We now see the networks happy to see the multiples selling goods at lower prices than independent dealers can purchase them.

The day has arrived when Cellnet and Vodafone in particular (the others to a lesser extent) have killed much of the retail business of the small independent by allowing others to give the impression we overcharge Miller added.

Vodafone came in at number two with One 2 One ranked fourth. Orange came in at number five and BTCellnet followed up in ninth place.

Deutsche Telekom and Telecom Italia were least talked about probably because of their falling out of the One 2 One auction.

BTCellnets 100th country mark was reached with the signing of a roaming agreement with the network operator in Uzbekistan.

Vodafones 100th roaming partner was Togo Cellulaire of Togo West Africa. Vodafone also says it is the first operator in the world to roam with more than 200 operators. Its current status is 212 networks.

Meanwhile Orange says its offering of Motorolas L7089 tri-band phone means there are now 170 networks in 90 countries where Orange customers can make and receive calls. By the end of the year Orange says its customers can expect to use their phones on 200 networks in 100 countries.

Bob Fuller chief operating officer at Orange said:

Orange is serious about attracting the international traveller. Theres no reason your Orange phone should not provide the same convenience while you are abroad as it does at home.

Orange says its international call charges from the UK are 20 per cent lower than BTs standard rates and lower than Vodafone and Cellnets standard charges.

Because travellers abroad pay for the international leg of any calls they receive and are charged at international direct dialling rates Orange claims its customers pay significantly less for the international leg of incoming calls whilst travelling abroad.

Cellnet has responded with the OneRate system which levels out roaming charges across Europe using a specific OneRate phone.

The offer is being publicised through the Newcastle Building Societys first customer magazine which has gone out to 350000 people.

These include a memorable number freephone business number and the Personal Number Companys text-to-speech product called e-call which alerts mobile phone users about incoming e-mails and reads the messages to them.

The network is using a system from billing software company Kingston-SCL which adds a desktop publishing facility. This allows bills to be customised with individual details and sales messages.

The packs are available for 35 for most popular makes and models of phones. Fone Range says this is around half the price of selling them seperately.

He is Nick Wilson (33) who joins the group from international management consultancy firm McKinsey and Co.

Wilkinson has spent the last five years at McKinsey working on organisational and operational issues faced by companies in the retailing and packaged goods sectors.

Before that he worked at Unilever where he was in marketing and product development roles in the UK and Middle East.

The concession is being trialled at five top Shop sites the flagship store in Oxford Street Bluewater shopping centre Lakeside shopping centre Manchester and Liverpool.

The phones are displayed in a case which shows phones from each of the four networks as well as accessories.

Top Shops customers are in the 14 to 22 year age group.

Emphasis has been placed on fashionable accessories which is an area most mobile phone retailers have not exploited said Electros Gavin Simons.

IT Minister Michael Willis has unveiled new plans to modernise the law to lay the foundations for electronic commerce to flourish in Britain.

These measures include a consultation procedure on licensing new radio spectrum to allow broadband wireless services to be offered across the country.

A draft Electronic Communications Bill will include proposals to enable electronic signatures to be admissible in court measures to allow e-mail to be a legal substitute for hard copy (so that companies can communicate legally with shareholders etc and save postage and paper costs) and measures to simplify the process of amended Telecommunications Act licenses.

The Home Office minister Paul Boateng said that the Draft Bill would ensure that criminals did not get the upper hand in technologies such as encryption which were vital to e-commerce.

Encryption is a double-edged sword vital to the e-commerce revolution and at the same time exploited by criminals to often devastating effect.

Boateng said that their Criminal investigations are already being hampered by the use of encryption by drug traffickers paedophiles and terrorists.

Third-generation mobile phones will offer high-speed instant access to the internet giving users the ability to web surf and shop from handsets and devices that fit in the palm of their hand.