The new pay as you go service offers customers a choice of three tariff structures consisting of talk and save choose your own off peak and fixed rates.

With talk and save calls to Orange phones and fixed lines after the first three minutes are 5p a minute every day.

Choose your own off peak is self-explanatory while fixed rate means calls to Orange and fixed lines are 15p a minute and calls to other networks are 35p a minute.

In addition customers can add the Orange out here or Group Saver offers to their plan. The out here allows over 1000 text messages a year and reserve talk time which allows for a minute of talk time when their credit has rung out. The Group Saver option gives 20 per cent off inter-group voice calls and text messages as well as 2p off inter-group weekend calls.

Out here and Group saver come with a 19.99 annual charge and two vouchers enabling two customers to join the group discount.

Recent reports have suggested the Competition Commission is set to recommend to Oftel that mobile networks be forced to reduce their call charges by 14 to 20 per cent.

MmO2 press relations manager Simon Gordon said such a move could have significant effects:

There are rumblings that the Commission will impose a draconian one-off reduction in call charges. We would find this very hard to stomach and would have to look at ways of recouping the money lost he says.

A glide-path reduction like the one in the original report is something that we have planned for and could live with. But a one-off cut and then some further reductions over time would force us to look at delaying our 3G services or raising the price of handsets and vouchers. It is not something we would do through choice but something that we would have to consider.

Gordon claimed that O2 would be happy to accept the 12 per cent reduction in call charges over four years that was originally recommended by Oftel in 2001 before the matter was referred to the Commission.

The UK is one of the most competitive markets in the world. With the forthcoming arrival of the 3 network call charges will be driven down regardless of regulation.

The Competition Commission is due to produce its report into the cost of termination charges on January 6. But national daily papers last week ran stories on the findings even though the report is unfinished.

Commission spokesperson Francis Royle said:

We are still finalising the report that will go to the regulator on January 6. I cannot comment on what the papers might have said.

But Royle dismissed the reports as speculation stating that it was very very unlikely that the information might have come from a leaked document.

Other networks were less talkative. An Orange spokesperson said:

From what we understand there are some price directions in the Competition Commissions report but at this point we have not decided what we are going to do about them. There have been no figures released so anything that is mentioned at this point is purely speculation.

A Vodafone spokesperson said: We are not expecting the report until January and we cant make any comment until then.

The Commission was asked to review termination charges following the rejection by the networks of Oftels report into charges in September 2001.

In the original Oftel report director-general David Edmonds said mobile termination rates are substantially in excess of cost and there is little incentive for operators to reduce these charges.

The move will allow the company to offer domestic fixed-line services from its 470 existing stores in the UK and chief executive officer Charles Dunstone fired a warning shot at likely rival Project Telecom.

We want business from BT and other fixed-line companies said Dunstone. On the corporate side it is companies like Project Telecom that we will be competing against. We will offer strong competition.

The payment for Opal is split between cash and shares with potential for a further payment of up to 18 million over the next two years.

This gives us a very compelling proposition to put to customers and to add to our portfolio he added.

We are in the unique position of already having a customer database of 2.5 million customers. We are in an ideal position to talk to them about their telecoms situation. Switching fixed-line carriers is not the most exciting of subjects and its not something that people wake up thinking about but being the largest player in the mobile market we have them in front of us so it is the ideal time to raise the subject.

The new service will be available from February. Dunstone says it could have been available earlier but the offering would have been lost within the Christmas period. Although details of the new service havent been decided (including its name price points and whether services will be available at a fixed price) Dunstone said it will offer special deals for fixed-to-mobile calls.

We are looking at different plans. One thing we can do is create special deals for people who have bought their mobile at our stores. It will help increase brand loyalty.

There is also the low cost of acquiring customers. It can be as simple as publicising and advertising the services to existing customers and advertising in the stores.

In addition while we are traditionally weak on corporate sales Opal already has 20000 corporate customers and nearly 100 sales staff who will now sell Carphone Warehouse services. We will use Opal to get into the corporate marketplace and being part of the Carphone Warehouse will allow Opal to offer that bit more stability when it approaches larger clients.

According to Dunstone trials of the service indicate that The Carphone Warehouse could offer 30 per cent savings to businesses and 35 per cent to home users on regular BT charges. An ARPU of 12 to 15 a month has been forecast giving a domestic customer a saving of around 50 on a 170 bill.

The timing of the purchase takes advantage of newly introduced regulatory changes to the Carrier Pre-Select market that make it simple for a user to switch carrier.

Where previously a user would have dialled a four-digit number or installed a 20 dialler box to switch carriers now a call to BT indicating a desire to change is enough.

Dunstone stressed that acquiring Opal required no infrastructure work as the company already has connections with BT exchanges while the fibre network is sourced from infrastructure providers.

Dunstone adds: While our staff are talking to customers they can ask if they would like to save 30 per cent on their fixed line. If the answer is yes it takes just one telephone call to connect them. We dont have to ask for any further information.

Dunstone says the new service will not lengthen the time it takes for a store assistant to carry out a sale as it will slide into sale dead time – for example when a credit check is being carried out.

Opal is a private company whose largest shareholder was renowned industry figure Martin Dawes a factor Dunstone concedes played a large role in the acquisition. We have a close synergy with the Opal management team he said.

Opal management had looked to float the company in 2000 with a value of around 250 million but decided against it when market conditions changed for the worse.

For the year to December 31 2001 Opal had a profit before interest tax and exceptionals of 3.2 million. Revenue for the 12 months to 2000 was 40 million while for the 12 months to 2001 it was 92 million and for the first six months of 2002 it was 61 million.

As part of the deal The Carphone Warehouse also assumes Opals net debt of 25 million.

The company currently has seven branded stores and these would be rebranded alongside the new stores. MoCo already has funding from Orange and O2 and is in talks with the other two networks.

It is currently working on artwork for new fascias. Fourteen of the potential stores are in Northern Ireland while the rest are in Kent Sussex and Cambridgeshire.

The Icon 20 model which will work with any Bluetooth handset now costs 59.99. Phones 4U claims this is 20 less than its other high street competitors.

The launch of Icon 20 is stage two in the chains bid to make Bluetooth affordable for all mobile users. Last August the top-of-the-range Jabra model cost 99.99.

The Icon 20 has detachable and replaceable skins in three different designs and colours a lightweight design (just 23 grams) and offers more than four hours talk time and 72 hours standby time.

It also features the standard Bluetooth benefits including a 10-metre operating distance built-in charger plus standard AC/DC adaptor a high-quality noise-cancelling microphone and auto power off when the Bluetooth link is not active.

We anticipate that the reduced price point will encourage people to add Bluetooth technology to their Christmas wish list said Phones 4U spokesperson Jenna Jensen.

Bluetooth technology has a big future in the UK.

This follows an agreement between England team sponsor O2 and the Rugby Football Union to increase real-time information and entertainment services to fans regardless of location or network operator.

Daily mobile updates include team line-ups live match commentary score flashes and post-match reaction from Woodward.

Supporters will be able to vote for the the Man of the Match and take part in quiz competitions and rugby trivia games.

The deal is beneficial to all parties commented Rugby Football Unions commercial director Paul Vaughan. The Rugby Football Union is enabling the fans to interact with the team as never before and O2 is adding further value to its customer base.

The RFU will share in the network revenues generated from the new services in a similar way to the agreement between O2 and Arsenal Football Club.

O2 head of brand and marketing communications Will Harris said:

We are taking rugby sponsorship to another level. We are using cutting-edge technology to ensure the team builds a closer relationship with the fans.

Clive Woodward called it a fantastic new development.

He went on: The most exciting aspect is being in touch with the fans via daily updates. The information will give them the chance to be involved with the England set-up and give them an insight into how we prepare for each match.

She is Faith Watson who was made redundant from Euro Cellular in July Watson was purchasing manager at Euro Cellular and has been in the mobile industry for nearly ten years.

Her role at European Telecom involves the purchasing of handsets and accessories and liaison with phone manufacturers.

Rasah Arif (24) pleaded not guilty to stealing the Nokia 8210 on August 21. He is due to stand trial on December 16.

They will show tailored demos and new application to customers via touch screens plasma screens and interactive displays.

The demo centres will show the latest service descriptions product demonstrations and pricing. Information will be tailored so every Vodafone store will be able to offer localised content based on specific store data and customer trends.

The service is currently live in 270 outlets across the UK with a projected roll-out across more than 2000 UK Vodafone retail stores and indirect channel retailers.

The service branded Revolution is available to customers who register on O2s website. Users can choose from brainteasers trivia quizzes famous quotes and football and dating games for a minimum 1.50 fee.

The service is targeted at high users of text messages and wap services.

O2 is calling Revolution a one-stop shop where younger customers can search for and buy games and services.

The service will initially be promoted on O2s website and directly to O2 customers. Next year O2 intends to market the service with point of sale material in-store.

O2 has signed agreements with the other networks to charge for the service by sending premium rate text messages which will appear on customers mobile phone bills. Applications are accessed on the Internet from a PC or from a mobile phone via text or WAP.

O2 claims market research has shown that there is a demand for good applications and services. Around 49 million text messages were generated by O2s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire game. O2s 2.7 million registered wap users generate more than 200 million page hits per month on its wap portal and 50 million hits per month on its web portal.

According to O2 1500 application developers have registered an interest in supplying services to Revolution. In return O2 is promising them 85 per cent of net revenues generated by their applications. Developers are being offered a streamlined submission process that could see new services published online less than a month from the date they are submitted to O2.

Developers pay 750 a year upfront to O2 to submit five applications to the Revolution service. O2 added that it will not be a walled garden whereby applications are only offered to O2s own customers.

There have always been services available on WAP but not as many as on the Internet said Revolution programme and business manager Richard Sedgwick.

That is because the operators would not work with the mass-market of smaller developers who built the majority of services and applications. Revolution is a channel that lets these developers offer their services directly to customers through the O2 portal.