Users get their 50 cheque once they have been on line for three months by sending a claim form and copies of their first three monthly bills to Cellnet.

The Christmas cash-back offer applies to connections to standard versions of digital tariffs Occasional Caller Plus Regular Caller Plus Frequent Caller Plus and Corporate Life tariffs.

Easylife U and all-in-one boxes are excluded from the cash back.

The shops will offer connections to Vodafone and One 2 One. They will all be located in prime sites with Phone People branding.

The significant investment we are making in our retail network is a clear demonstration of our commitment to the cellular industry and our customers said joint managing director Jason Pickthall.

The company was set up in 1988 and currently has 28 stores including two recently-opened flagship stores in Manchesters Arndale centre and Spindles shopping mall in Oldham.

Meanwhile the company has appointed a new sales and marketing head.

He is Paul Diffin who joins from Motorola TelCo where he was dealer sales manager for eight years.

Diffins job is to develop the Phone People brand and push up sales. He has already negotiated sponsorship of traffic and travel information on Century Radio 105 FM the new radio station covering the North West.

The network recently sent an e-mail out to its customer base offering two free SIMs each with 5 airtime. The mailout said: Dish them out to your mates and use them to enter our text competition. You or your mates could win 10000 or one of 100 iPod nanos. Just check out the free SIM packs to find out how.
The offer was meant to be exclusive to Virgin Mobile customers but one Virgin mobile subscriber who received the e-mail said he forwarded the mail out to all his friends who were subsequently able to successfully register for the free SIMs.
A Virgin Mobile spokeswoman denied that the promotion could lead to people selling the cards on.
As a safeguard we de-duplicate any numbers against our base she said. There are other safeguards in place but I can t disclose them. The early results are good and 96 per cent of applicants for SIMs are already customers.

On the TMA (Telecommuniations Managers Association) scale of one to 10 for quality of service Orange scored 7.08 followed by Vodafone (6.84) and Cellnet (6.72).

The survey indicated Orange had grown its percentage share of the business market more than the other networks.

Orange recently came top for customer satisfaction in the JD Power and Associates UK Mobile Telephone Customer Satisfaction Study.

The TMA survey took place in January and February among 450 TMA members in UK corporations and other organisations.

The clips together with other content such as ringtones and still images were made available to Orange World customers from Thursday (February 9).
Orange director of multimedia operations Mark Hird said: Delivering broadcast content on mobiles is central to our plans this year.
BBC Worldwide director of business development Jason Blain added: The BBC is looking to move toward non-traditional broadcasting vehicles.

The role is a new one created because of the potential of this category according to a spokeswoman.
We are looking for someone to help deliver the mobile entertainment and accessories proposition within our trading team she said.
Response to a Sunday Times job ad had been good she claimed. We are currently still interviewing applicants. v

The Orange Roamers Guide will automatically appear on a user s phone when they re abroad and first access the Orange World portal. It provides information on roaming charges so that users are aware of the costs of services before they receive the bill.
The guide also provides links to web pages that require only minimal data usage to see.
Orange director of roaming and interconnect Keith Greenfield said: We are providing consumers with the clarity they need to make an informed decision.

We planned to launch during Q1 when we first announced it to developers in October said Sony Ericsson corporate communications manager Gary Lockwood. But the difference between the announcement and shipping dates for the P990 is much greater than our normal schedule.
He added: We wanted to engage the developer community [so announced the product early]. Now we have a clearer view across the product portfolio it made sense to move the P990 into Q2.
Sony Ericsson is in talks with all the network operators about carrying the new M600 its second 3G business device based on Symbian 9.1 and UIQ 3.0. But Lockwood refused to comment on whether the product would be made available through the independent channel.
We are working with all of the operators on this product and there has been a tremendous level of interest but it is too early to discuss specifics he said.
The M600 which features touch screen and handwriting recognition is aimed at business e-mail users.
There are approximately 650 million business e-mail users around the globe and the demand for true mobile e-mail is growing rapidly said Sony Ericsson corporate executive vice-president and head of sales and marketing Jan Wäreby.
While there are some standalone e-mail messaging devices available many people will welcome fast and easy messaging tools integrated into their mobile phone.
Sony Ericsson confirmed the same push e-mail partners among them RIM BlackBerry Connect Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync Ericsson Mobile Office Seven Visto for both devices.

The headsets which retail for 49.99 will be on sale in all O2 retail stores. The devices feature voice recognition activation and battery life of up to 250 hours standby and seven hours talk time.
Breast Cancer Care pins and wristbands will also be available in all O2 retail stores.
Anyone who texts Pink to 83338 will receive an exclusive downloadable pink ribbon screen-saver direct to their handset.
Messages cost 1.50 plus normal service charges. A donation of 90p will be made to the charity.

Parents receive a text message alert followed by the location of their child. If parents are unable to establish contact with their child Find Me provides details of where a child was when he or she last made contact.
I believe this is of real value to parents who want more peace of mind about their child s safety said ChildLocate managing director Jon Magnusson. Children who find themselves in situations where they feel at risk can discreetly make their whereabouts known to their parents and the fact they want to be found.
FindMe works with any mobile phone on all of the major UK mobile networks. ChildLocate covers up to five mobiles and costs 69.95 for a year s membership.

However the company offers a 30 day free trial so parents can try out the service under no obligation.