OFT plans to probe network sharing deal

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said last week that it may investigate a network sharing agreement between Vodafone and Orange.

An OFT spokesman said: We have to assess whether this constitutes a merger and whether sharing a network would lessen competition within the market.

Vodafone and Orange announced earlier this month they would enter an arrangement to maximise 3G coverage and save money through shared network management.

Vodafone CEO Nick Read said: The proposal will enable the two companies to remain vigorously competitive against each other.

Orange CEO Bernard Ghillebaert called it a common sense approach to network rollout and management.

Sony Ericsson president resigns

Flint took up the role in June 2004 and during his tenure he has seen Sony Ericsson rise to become the worlds fourth largest phone manufacturer.

In this period the company has increased its increased from 27.2 million units in 2003 to 74.8 million in 2006. Flint has also been credit for establishing Sony Ericsson as trendy manufacturer of camera and music phones.

Flint will be replaced on November 1 by Sony Ericsson USA chairman Hideki Dick Komiyama. The new president will relocate to Sony Ericssons London offices and Flint will stay on as his executive advisor until the end of December.

Commenting on his departure Flint said: After nearly 17 years in Sony and Sony Ericsson I wish to develop new personal and business opportunities and intend to take a short career break before deciding on my next steps.

Leading a major mobile handset company which is also a joint venture between two of the worlds great companies has been a wonderful and rewarding experience.

I believe that together we have in place very firm foundations for the next phase of Sony Ericssons growth and I wish Dick Komiyama every success in his new role.

Vodafone offering free texts and landline calls

The deal is only available to new Vodafone customers and the group will support the campaign with in-store and outdoor advertising.

Vodafone UK chief marketing officer Tim Yates said: These new offers within our pay monthly price plans give customers great value for money.

If a customer is mostly a talker then they can take advantage of unlimited calls to UK landlines at no extra charge or if they prefer to text then they can take advantage of unlimited text messages.

New edition of Mobile News podcast

Theres also debate over the Nokia Music Store and a review of the LG Viewty KU990. Meanwhile Mobile News editorial director Ian White rants about Vodafone offering massage services for its executives.

To cap it all off Iain Graham and the team take a light hearted look at all the latest headlines affecting the mobile industry. So dont miss out listen to the latest edition of the Mobile News podcast by clicking here.

ZTE signs deal with Vodafone

Chinese manufacturer ZTE has signed a deal with Vodafone to supply it with budget Vodafone-branded prepay devices across all Vodafones markets.

It has not yet been confirmed whether the ZTE devices will be sold in the UK but the first an ultra low-cost 2G handset will ship to emerging markets in Q2.

Vodafones global director of terminals Jens Schulte-Bockum said: This agreement will build on ZTEs experience in emerging markets to create an ultra-low cost handset as the first of a range of products we seek to develop with them.

ZTE senior vice president He Shiyou said: This is a breakthrough for us and highlights ZTEs ability to develop handsets according to European operators requirements and standards.

LG announces new 5.1 megapixel camera phone

The sleek touch screen handset contains a variety of professional-level digital camera features including a built-in image stabilizer that enables the camera to take clearer pictures. It also comes with photo editing software that allows users to write on their photos and internet access that will allow pictures to be uploaded in seconds.

The Viewty is also the first phone that enables users to record video at 120 frames per second. It also features an MP3 player FM radio and 3 inch screen.

LG Mobile CEO Dr. Skott Ahn said: The LG Viewty is a camera phone with unparalleled functions. This handset provides quality matching or exceeding that of conventional digital cameras.

With some of our earlier handsets LG emphasized great style. Now we are focused on functionality and features as well. LG is always trying to identify unspoken customer needs and create new mobile trends.

Spat leads Smith to quit Anglia

Anglia Telecom chief executive Andy Smith is to leave the company.

Smith has had a falling out with the management team at Anglia Telecom parent company Symphony Telecom Mobile News understands.
Smith refused to comment.

Prior to his appointment to Anglia Telecom in early 2004 Smith spent 19 years at Vodafone latterly as sales director.

Orange axes 150 in total dealer review

Two weeks ago it issued do not deal notices relating to around 150 dealers across its entire distribution base. Orange UK head of independent retail Steve Heald told Mobile News: These dealers have consistently failed to deliver value to Orange. We cant support them commercially and so we have ceased trading with them.

Orange has analysed three-to-six months trading figures for all its dealer base and been making steady cuts on its findings during the past weeks. But last week it summoned 10 of its distribution partners to its Hertfordshire headquarters for oneto- one briefings to inform them of the mass dealer cuts and to issue guidelines on procedures and performance.

Heald said every distributor that attended had dealers culled. Numbers would increase once the new policies are enforced next month he said.

Dealers among them a high number of call centres have been cut for mis-selling upgrades failing to honour cashback offers churning high volumes of customers and delivering poor quality business.

Orange has immediately struck off dealers with a churn rate of 50 per cent or over. It has also issued 90-day warning notices to distributors about dealers whose churn figures are running at 30-50 per cent. Around 100 dealers are on final warnings Mobile News understands. Dealer codes that remain inactive for six months will also be terminated.

Its new guidelines for call centres follow the introduction of an operator code of conduct backed by regulator Ofcom on distance sales and marketing practices earlier this month. Call centres must now clearly identify themselves to customers at the start of a call stating where they are phoning from. Call centres must clearly publish customer service numbers on their websites.

Heald said: We have received complaints for a long time about this from customers who repeatedly get calls from an organisation theyve never heard of at inconvenient times and where the offer is not clear. Weve successfully reduced the number of last years customer complaints by more than half but we have needed to do more.

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