From August 30 the network will charge customers 39c per minute for making outgoing call and 19c per minute for receiving incoming calls. These rates are considerably lower than the level recommended by the EU Commission who recommend charging 59c per minute for making calls and 29c per minute for receiving calls.

The price cuts make 3 the cheapest network for roaming charges in Ireland as its rival operators have only cut their prices to the level recommended by the EU Commission.

3 managing director Robert Finnegan said: Today 3 has announced the most competitive EU roaming prices available to Irish consumers. 3 has been leading the campaign to end the roaming rip-off experienced by mobile users and has lobbied hard for the lowering of wholesale rates charged by the old networks.

3 is the only network to have chosen to offer better pricing than the Eurotariff whilst the old networks do nothing more for consumers than they have to.

The Cornwall based tourist attraction has joined forces with Swiftpass an LUUP to allow visitors to buy tickets using their mobile phone. Customers must sign up for an LUUP account and register their card details before texting 80988 for their tickets. This will initiate an instant payment from their LUUP account and a barcode ticket will be sent directly to their handset.

Customers must present the barcode for scanning at the entrance of the site and in return will avoid having to queue.

Mobile ticketing has been in use at the Eden Project since last year but until now customers had to call the box office and pay over the phone in order to receive their ticket via text.

Eden Project head of ICT Jon Curry said: This development builds on the good work on ticket fulfilment we did last summer with Swiftpass. Now using the LUUP payment system for the first time we are able to offer our customers a fully automated paperless advanced ticketing system using nothing but their mobile phone.

The deal will allow N800 customers to make calls via a wireless Internet connection using Skype. Nokia has also revealed that Skype will be available for download to existing customers.

Nokia vice president of convergence products Ari Virtanen said: Skype is the recognized leader in internet calling with more than 196 million registered users worldwide. The Nokia N800 gives people easy access to the internet and its a natural step that they will want to make Skype calls away from their desktop.

Fraser has over 12 years industry experience and joins from The Accessory People (TAP) where he spent five years as global sales manager. Prior to TAP he was retail manager at dealership Network Cellular Communications.

Fraser is tasked with growing Genuines dealer base primarily in London. Genuine sales and purchasing director Christian McBride said: His main role will be to encourage and grow our UK dealer business while giving us feedback from our customer.

Vodafone World charges 38p a minute to make a call and 19p a minute to receive a call for UK customers to travelling to Europe from August 29.

Customers can elect to move to or remain on the Passport service which charges a 75p connection fee per call and then the users normal home tariff.

Customers who choose to move off Passport will be subject to Vodafone World. Customers not already on Passport will automatically be subject to Vodafone World.

A Vodafone spokesman said that for longer calls Passport rates would be more cost effective.

Orange 3 and Tesco Mobile have all announced they are cutting European roaming rates.

3 customers will pay 25p per minute for outgoing calls and 10p a minute for incoming calls.

Orange rates will be the same as Vodafone.

Tesco was the first to announce its reduction charging 30p a minute to make a call and 15p to receive a call.

All mobile networks will be required to offer roaming tariffs in line with the ECs caps.

Kent based firm Communic8 Ltd has been chosen to distribute the new handset called Emporia Life. The phone will be user friendly for the older generations and features a wide screen large buttons powerful vibration and a loudspeaker.

The handset also contains a number of functions that are useful for customers with disabilities. This includes an orange backlight for the partially sighted and compatibility with digital hearing aids for users with hearing difficulties.

There is also large panic button on the back of the phone that can be programmed to call up to five designated numbers.

Communic8 managing director Stewart Smith said: We firmly believe the Emporia Life will prove to be a lifeline for those people who find current mobiles very difficult to use. With over 80000 handsets already sold in Germany we are sure the life handset will similar impact in the UK.

Morley replaces Simon Thompson who stepped down in March to join lastminute.com. He will be responsible for Motorolas device marketing and brand communications strategy while pushing its current and upcoming device portfolio primarily the Z8 and RAZR 2.

A spokesperson said: This is a crucial time leading up to the Christmas period and were confident Andrew can play a huge part in helping Motorola once again challenge Nokia for top spot.

Morley joins from department store Harrods where he served as group marketing director. Prior to this he was chief commercial officer at Cable and Wireless and also held marketing positions at BSkyB and Ford of Europe.

Apple has set itself a global sales target of 10 million units by the end of 2008 but a single-network approach to Europe will cost it important market share claimed Ovum senior analyst Steven Hartley.

T-Mobile Vodafone and most recently O2 have been tipped to bring the iPhone over the pond. But Hartley said: If Apple signs an exclusive deal with a UK operator it means there will be a limited number of people they can sell it to.

In the US the iPhone is subject to a two-year deal with network AT&T. It is also available in Apple stores.

Hartley warned the lack of Apple stores in the UK and the volatile nature of the UK market demands a different strategy. He explained: It is difficult to see a $400-$500 (£200-£250) device hitting the right numbers in the UK with the US distribution model. If Apple does sign an exclusive deal in the UK it might be six months rather than two years.

There is speculation around the timing of the iPhones UK launch too. Retailers claimed last week that Apple could actually delay its shipment to the UK until after Christmas when a 3G version will be ready to roll. By its scheduled Q4 launch date its feature set will have been superseded already even if its iconic looks still draw in Apple loyalists.

All the UK networks that have been named in the speculation have kept their own council. It could be Apple decides to go with various networks in different European markets. In the UK however O2 is thought to be closest to signing with Apple. O2 maintains the reports are just rumour and speculation.

Nevertheless the speculation continues. Reports online claimed last week O2 has gone so far as to agree with Apple to install a new EDGE network solely to support the iPhone. Again O2 declined to comment.

A mobile expert for independent price comparison service uSwitch touted the supposed deal as an opportunity for O2 to become the network of choice for music fans and create attractive data tariffs and support services around music.

Arguably the opening of The O2 in London its Wireless Festival Cocoon music device and offers to O2 customers have already gone some way to lodge it in consumers minds as the network for entertainment.

T-Mobile also bolstered its music catalogue last week with the launch of its Jukebox service which allows customers access to over 500000 tracks for £1 each. Vodafone and 3 have also released music download catalogues although 3 is out of the running until Apple unveils a 3G version.

Whatever their current music brand associations there can be little doubt the link with Apple would do each the world of good. Said Hartley: AT&T has certainly benefited. In an intensely competitive market with four almost equally powerful operators you take what advantage you can get.

But perhaps some perspective is needed. However close it gets to its sales targets Apple will remain a niche player in the vicious world of handset manufacturing.

Ten million sales is still only one per cent of the global handset market Hartley noted. Nokia Motorola and Sony Ericsson have all got time to react and Im sure there will be devices in the pipeline.

There is also the issue of price for all but Apple die-hards. Hartley argues manufacturers could well benefit from an iPhone halo effect for a wide consumer audience through its emphasis on high-end multimedia features. But Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin predicts the iPhone will set the bar high for the incumbent manufacturers.

While consumer desire may be driven purely by the iPhone name its price remains a factor which holds doubts over its success. UK-based iTunes rival Omnifone combined with a straight handset-and-voice tariff would appeal to be a more economic punt.

Omnifone CEO Rob Lewis said the true cost of owning the device after contract and download costs could be more than $2000 over a two-year period. He said: The iPhone may be nicely designed and aesthetically pleasing but its not a fully-fledged next generation device. iTunes is not connected or integrated with the mobile network and it cant be accessed at any time. Operators and manufacturers have invested millions in developing music services and brands introducing the iPhone will dilute their investment.

Ovums Hartley also suggests music is hardly cutting edge and the rush for the iPhone will as a result be less hasty than in the US.

Nevertheless the Apple brand is a powerful thing. Said Hartley: The strength of the iPod brand cannot be underestimated.

The uptake of iPods is well documented and integration with communications functionality is a logical evolution.

The regulator has also revealed plans for the creation of central database of transferred numbers which will enable numbers to be transferred instantly. Ofcom hopes to have the database in place by December 2012.

It currently takes five working days for operators to transfer numbers but under the new proposals this time will be reduced to two working days by April 2008.

Ofcom CEO Ed Richards said: The UK was one of the first countries to introduce number portability and this has helped create a competitive mobile market in the UK.

However the original process is now out-of-date. We believe that the industry should introduce a new system which will stimulate competition and encourage consumers to exercise choice between competing suppliers with a minimum of inconvenience.

Less than two years after launching it O2 has announced that it is to phase out the i-mode mobile Internet service and will not launch any new i-mode handsets from July 2007.

O2 was one of the most recent mobile operators to adopt NTT DoCoMos i-mode mobile Internet package. Now it seems that O2 is also going to be among the first to drop it. said Delaney.

O2 has tried to position i-mode as a more Internet-like service than Active but the distinction is a rather subtle one. A distinction that has proved very easy to grasp though is that i-mode is available on a much smaller range of handsets.

In any case the i-mode service concept itself runs counter to trends that are emerging in the mobile Internet market. In the i-mode business model operators keep only a small amount of content revenue making most of their money by charging for data network usage.

But regular users of the Internet on mobiles will become increasingly dissatisfied with having the meter running while they surf and the trend is already moving in favour of flat-rate data tariffs. Moreover the user experience is constantly improving and people are becoming more comfortable with using the Internet on their mobiles.

O2 will still sell existing i-mode handset models. The operator says i-mode was successful with rich content and high satisfaction amongst users but a limited range of handsets has restricted its growth. O2 will continue to manage and serve any existing UK i-mode customers until July 2009.