European Telecom parent company Emblaze confirmed last week that it has lost more than USD10 million (GBP5.1m) during the past year as a result of withheld VAT repayments by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Emblaze said that European Telecom had also suffered from the decline in handset trading following HMRCs squeeze on the sector.

In a statement it said: The Group expects to incur a net loss of not more than USD10 million for the year as a result of an ongoing VAT dispute concerning HMRC that is currently impacting hundreds of companies within the UK mobile phone distribution industry.

This has impacted the Group in two ways. Firstly the Group has had to make a significant provision for the potential loss of VAT refund in 2006. Secondly the HMRC action has led to uncertainty in the mobile distribution market and a significant slowdown in trading.

European Telecom chairman Nico Dervisaj told Mobile News earlier this month: The weakest part of our business now is SIM-free trading as we dont have any direct relationships with manufacturers in the UK and dont buy from the open market anymore because of the HMRC situation. Handset trading is really really down.

Emblaze will post its full year results to December 31 2006 in the second half of April.

The BBC has started a trial with Orange Vodafone and 3 to syndicate content via 3G.

The 12-month trial will enable Orange Vodafone and 3 customers to watch BBC One BBC News 24 and BBC Three plus eight BBC radio stations.

BBC controller of business strategy Richard Halton said: We are looking at ways in which mobile devices will shape services of the future for licence fee payers.

BT last week denied its DAB mobile TV service was threatened by the EUs backing of DVB-H as the mobile TV broadcast standard.

BT Movio BTs wholesale mobile TV service is available to all UK networks although only Virgin Mobile has opted in so far with its Lobster handset.

Last month EU commissioner Vivien Reding said mobile TV providers should adopt a single broadcast standard and recommended DVB-H.

BT Movio marketing manager Dominic Strowbridge said:

There is very little likelihood that Lobster customers will be affected as the spectrum for DVB-H in the UK will not be released for another five to six years. We firmly believe consumers want a blend of TV and radio on their mobiles so the long-term goal is to get DAB and whatever TV specific-standard into all handsets.

Strowbridge added that chipset suppliers are already producing hardware for dual-mode DAB/DVB-H handsets.

But the WorldDMB Forum is pushing the wider implementation of the DAB/DMB standard.

President Quentin Howard said: It is vital for European industry that the market is not restricted to one specific technology.

Orange is to roll out mobile Internet advertising to all its UK subscriber base.

It said that following trials 75 per cent of its customers are interested in mobile Internet advertising but that ad slots on its Orange World portal are unobtrusive.

Orange UK third-party service manager Steve Ricketts said: There is a real appetite for mobile advertising and its not interruptive ads are clearly labelled to reduce the chance of someone clicking on them by mistake.

Ricketts said advertisers had already re-booked after the trial. He added that restrictions would ensure the delivery of age-appropriate content.

Orange began placing ads on Orange World last August. Of 1000 customers surveyed Orange claimed more than 50 per cent would be happy to see more advertising on their mobile. Seventy-five per cent said they would stop browsing a mobile Internet site and view a relevant mobile ad. Orange claimed that less than six per cent of surveyed customers said they disliked the advertising.

Brands advertising in the trial included Adidas Cadburys Xbox Jaguar Peugeot BMW and EMI.

Ricketts refused to confirm speculation that Orange is on the verge of signing an airtime deal to host MVNO Blyk which is funded by advertising revenues. We are always on the look out for MVNO partners but no contracts have been signed he said.

Ovum principal analyst Eden Zoller warned: Orange should keep in mind that advertising wont play a part in every mobile consumers life. If it resembles spam its going to switch consumers off.

Staff salaries at Jag communications have undergone a restructure with the hope of recruiting quality sales consultants and increasing its share of the mobile market.

The changes will see managers basic salaries rise from £15000 to £20000 a year and sales staff basic salaries from £10000 to £15000.
The move came into effect on April 1 following a £20000 investment in sales training in the past two months.

Jag MD John George said: We have been struggling to recruit quality personnel. Pay will be based on stores making a profit.

Sony Ericsson launched its latest Walkman-branded handset last week the slim-line slider W580i.

Sony Ericsson marketing manager Richard Dorman said: The W580i has all the credentials to be a big seller in 2007. It has a slim-slide feature which is something totally different for a Sony Ericsson handset.

The handset is 14mm thick and can store up to 470 tracks. It has a two-megapixel camera.

Nokia shipped 20000 Nokia N95s to UK retailers for its release last Monday (April 2).

Nokia said its 1000 pre-orders from Carphone Warehouse customers was the highest number in Nokias history.

The N95 is Nokias most highly-specified handset to date. It is the first N-series model to feature in-built GPS and a five megapixel camera. SIM-free price is £599 though it will be free on high-end contracts.

Nokia UK head of multimedia Andrew Connell said: Previous N-series models were targeted at one area whether it was music or images but this doesnt compromise on any feature. Photo quality is better than a lot of digital cameras.

Although the launch was dogged by talk of a lack of supply Connell said it would not be a problem unless sales greatly exceeded expectation.

Nokia has also announced the youth-oriented Nokia 5070 featuring Nokia Xpress Audio Messaging as an alternative to SMS. Launch is set for the second half of 2007.

Sony Ericsson has teamed up with Sagem to produce entry-level phones under the Sony Ericsson brand.

The deal was prompted by demand from the networks for entry-level Sony Ericsson devices.

The phones will retain the look and feel of Sony Ericsson handsets and retail for between £30 and £70 on prepay.

Sony Ericsson vice-president and head of its product business unit Howard Lewis said: Sony Ericsson has a successful business in the mid-to-high tier with the Cybershot and Walkman ranges. At the entry level weve been a bit more speculative about our product and weve tended to work with original device manufacturers.

But Lewis said that Sony Ericsson had no plans to compete at the ultra-low entry level.

A phone development unit is to be established at Sagems premises in Cergy on the outskirts of Paris.

Lewis said it was too early to say when the new phones would arrive or what features they would have.

He added that Sony Ericsson had no intention of acquiring Sagem: Todays announcement will not lead to this conclusion he said.

LG Mobile is to launch handsets pre-installed with Google into the UK later this year.

Selected LG handsets will be pre-installed with Google services including Google search Google Maps Blogger Mobile and Gmail.

Google director of product management Deep Nishar said: Users around the world now have more options for accessing information on the move through search and Gmail. With applications such as Blogger users are now free to express themselves wherever they are in the world.

LG product planning team vice-president Paul Bae said the collaboration built on LGs efforts to set new standards for wireless handsets.

Estimated European shipping dates for the Google-enabled LG devices are in the second half of 2007.

Google announced in January that Samsung phone users would also be able to access Google products from their handsets. Selected Samsung models are to ship with Google search Google Maps and Gmail shortly.

Car kit installer Toad said last week that demand for new hands-free kits has jumped 20 per cent in the month since new penalties were introduced for driving while using a mobile phone.

Toad director of sales Andrew Sarssam said: When the use of hand-held mobile phones in cars was banned over three years ago the fleet industry was very quick to respond. However this time around fleets have been slower. The last-minute rush suggests that some were caught off-guard.

Press Association reported that 240 drivers a day are being fined £60 with three points on their driving licence since the introduction of the new rules.