Expected for release in Q4 the upcoming version of Vyke Mobile IP will provide users a stand-alone mobile VoIP application. Operators like Vodafone and Orange have opted to supply devices like the Nokia N95 without its VoIP capability.

Vyke has formed an agreement with wireless network provider Cloud Networks giving users access to mobile VoIP services across a network of more than 9000 hotspots and 16 large area metropolitan networks including areas like the City of London Canary Wharf and Manchester.

Vyke Communications chief executive officer Kjetil Bøhn said: The incumbent mobile network operators must be feeling very threatened by mobile VoIP.

In the short amount of time that this emerging technology has been in the market they have already responded by removing VoIP capabilities from mobile handsets that they sell and by introducing restrictive contract terms prohibiting their customers from using their networks to access services such as VoIP and third party peer-to-peer messaging clients.

Users need to remember that these defensive tactics are not to their benefit and that attempts to keep mobile VoIP out of the market amount to nothing less than an announcement that the mobile operators intend to continue overcharging consumers for as long as they can.

Vyke has been dedicating itself to circumventing these obstructionist tactics by developing our own stand-alone mobile VoIP application as well as providing access to large scale wireless networks on behalf of our customers.

Pure Communications was named Best New Business at the countys business Oscars last Friday. Founder Matt Sandford also took home the Entrepeneur of the Year award.

In both categories Sandford was chosen from a final three who were whittled down from nearly 200 entries. The awards were presented in front of an audience of 500 at Telfords International Centre.

Sandford was required to make a presentation to three judges taking part in an hour-long interview for both categories. Judges then assessed his business premises.

He said: I am very honoured and just cant believe that we walked away with both awards. We were delighted just to be shortlisted but to have actually been chosen as the top business in both categories is astounding.

Such recognition from key players in the local business community has really catapulted us into a very privileged position in terms of customer awareness. Our aim is to build on this success to develop a strong future in an extremely competitive market place.

Sandford is known in the industry as former managing director of Ternhill Communications which he sold to Project Telecom in 2002.

Pure Communications launched 12 months ago providing mobile data fixed line billing broadband services and telephone systems and now has more than 120 customers.

It is also one of only a few businesses in the West Midlands to be named as direct independent partner with O2.

Sandford said: We saw that as pivotal to the success of our business. We do 95 per cent of our business through O2.

Sandford is looking to expand the businesss premise and staff as well as move further into IT support.

Orange vice President for device strategy and product marketing Matthias Hilpert said the home screen or idle screen is the most sought after advertising spot as it creates less intrusive advertising possibilities and greater visibility to products and services.

The home screen will provide customers a familiar point of access to their favourite content and services through one click access while displaying media menu options and a predictive search functionality which Abaxia said would make it comparable to Google.

The network hopes its idle screen will reduce churn by creating loyalty to the familiar user interface.

The Orange home screen has already launched in France and will follow in other markets.

Yes is currently engaged in an overhaul of its online customer registration system which will see it offer a device fulfilment service alongside its airtime facility via a partnership with a major distributor.

Yes wants its IT systems to be integrated with its partner so its dealers can order handsets via Yes and reconcile airtime commission payments against hardware costs.

Yes managing director Keith Curran said: Were in talks with distributors about this now and we want to talk with all of them.

They will expect us to make a decision based on price alone but while they will have to be competitive what we want is to look under the bonnet and make sure our IT systems can talk with their systems.

That will be a shock to them because theyre used to doing deals based purely on price.

Unipart Group which is the long-term handset distributor of Yes parent-company Vodafone is also a candidate.

The web upgrade process called Project Eclipse is expected to take 15 months but fixes and upgrades to its current e-contracts facility will be introduced at three-month intervals.

Project Eclipse will enable Yes dealers to receive live-time updates of their customer orders and balances. Dealers will also be able to brand the new web facility with company logos when it goes live next year.

A survey showed that the average BlackBerry user converted an average of 60 minutes downtime into productive time each day. The research also showed that BlackBerry users increase team efficiency by 38 per cent.

More than 50 per cent of small business employees in Europe are classified as mobile workers.

The study was conducted with 1335 BlackBerry users and 1387 IT managers in North America Europe Asia Pacific and Latin America.

The two-year agreement will enable customers to view action from the Championship League One and League Two on Virgin Mobile and Virgin Broadband.

Highlights from all 72 Football League clubs will be available on demand for up to a week after transmission.

Virgin Media CEO of content Malcolm Wall said: Were committed to investing in great content for our customers and this new partnership will give football fans a genuinely value-added service.

From today Tesco will cut prices from 40p per minute for outgoing calls to 35p. It will also slash the cost of receiving calls to 15p a minute.

Tesco Mobile CEO Andy Dewhurst said: We welcome the new legislation but we want our customers to get better value right away. It seems ludicrous that some mobile phone companies may make customers wait until the end of the summer to lower their mobile roaming prices.

HSBC First Direct Alliance & Leicester and from later this summer Royal Bank of Scotland NatWest and Ulster Bank have all signed up to the new service.

Vodafone will allow customers to check their balance request a mini-statement or top-up their phones via the internet.

Customers will be asked to provide their bank details into a secure application called MONILINK. Once registered they will be asked to enter a password before being able to access their bank account.

Head of Vodafone Internet On Your Mobile Al Russell said: Banking is one of the most important services that our customers use and by partnering with the MONILINK network we can ensure that all of our customers are able to access their bank accounts on the move whenever they wish.

Samsung chief Mark Mitchinson also confirmed that it has struck a trial deal with Unique.

Samsung continues to work with 20:20 and Data Select which remains under review. It was apparent in the first few weeks it wasnt going to happen with Elite said Mitchinson.

Extreme Mobile will launch in 2008 and McFarnon will oversee the launch of its push-to-talk MVNO which will target the 16-24 year old youth market.

McFarnon will also be responsible for establishing Extremes sister company Advantage Cellular Communications Ltd as a leading distributor.

Our aim is to handle this important sector of the mobile market in an entirely different way offering considerably more than just standard voice and text and appealing equally to both young men and women said McFarnon.

Extreme Mobile chief executive Simon Earle is delighted that McFarnon has joined the group. Earle said: The appointment of John McFarnon as Group Managing Director is a significant step forward in the development of our business.