The ITC ruled that Qualcomm chips infringe on patents belonging to Broadcom Inc. including push-to-talk and video compression.

Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel are the two major operators that carry Qualcomm chips to provide their 3G services in the US.

The two networks are appealing to the US Government against the ruling as are Vodafone who have a 45% stake in Verizon. The ruling is not yet final but will become so in 60 days if U.S. Trade Representatives decide against overturning the decision.

The LG-KU250 was selected by 12 leading operators to spearhead the GMSAs 3G for ALL marketing campaign aimed at raising raise awareness in multimedia mobile services.

The handset can multi-task and has a wide range of 3G services including voice calls video clips high-seed Internet access and music downloads.

Orange and T-Mobile have signed deals to market the handset as have Hutchinson 3G who will launch it under the model name LG-U250.

Chairman of the GSMA Craig Ehrlich believes that the handset will make a lasting impact on the industry. Ehrlich said:

We believe this highly-capable device will help open up a new market for 3G phones and drive further interest in mobile multimedia services across the world.

The LG-KU250 will be available worldwide by the end of June.

Drutt provides Service Delivery Platform (SDP) solutions to that enable operators to integrate and bill content partners.

The Swedish based company is used by 60 operators in 35 countries and employs 85 staff.

Ericssons senior vice president of multimedia Jan Wäreby believes the acquisition will enable Ericsson to provide a more efficient and complete service to its clients. Wäreby said:

By acquiring Drutt we will be even better positioned to support our customers to offer a better consumer experience by adapting content for the individual and making it attractive to use.

Our combination will provide operators with integration-ready platforms thus reducing system integration complexity.

Kovacs EU commissioner for taxation and customs union said VAT losses were now amounting to between 200 billion and 250 billion (£136bn to £170bn) a year twice the budget of the EU itself.

In some countries VAT fraud is accounting for up to 10 per cent of tax receipts he said.

Expanding globalisation has made it increasingly difficult for EU member states to combat VAT fraud alone according to Kovacs. He pushed for greater cooperation

between the tax authorities of member states through better sharing of resources and the creation of an international fraud team.

Partner at Birmingham-based Dass Solicitors Alias Dass said there was a need for EU member states government agencies to work more closely to increase their efficiency in tackling VAT fraud.

He said: Previously a lot of EU member states were trying to tackle VAT fraud on their own but fraudsters were co-ordinating themselves in and out of countries so it was proving difficult. Its hard to catch them using one law enforcement agency in one particular country so they need to begin co-operating.

The European Commission proposed a 15 per cent standard VAT rate across all EU member states.

Dass said of the initiative: The VAT systems each country has at the moment are temporary and its time to agree on a standard.

The idea is to have a uniform VAT rate throughout Europe but there could be problems like in the UK VAT is currently 17.5 per cent. Reducing it to 15 per cent means the country could lose revenue so there is a reluctance to conform. But something needs to be done.

Kovacs also spoke of the proposed Europe-wide reverse-charge system which zero-rates VAT between traders and transfers VAT accounting to the point of sale. He told the conference: It is likely a reverse charge system would also eliminate carousel fraud since there would be no input tax to be deducted and the tax would be collected at one single stage.

But the risk of fraud by the retailer at the final stage saw strong objections to this from delegates at the conference although Germany and Austria were vocal in their support.

The UK reverse charge which takes effect on June 1 garnered some support. But again the conference heard arguments that it would push fraud into other trading sectors such as pharmaceuticals and clothing.

The Commission stance on VAT fraud will be addressed again at the EUs Economics and Financial Affairs Council next month.

The trip will be recorded and called the long way down and it will follow the pair as they set off from John OGroats and finish in Capetown. It follows on from the Long Way Round in 2004 where McGregor and Boorman biked around the world from London to New York in 115 days.

The Nokia 6110 Navigator which hit the shops this week will act as satellite navigation for the trip as well as providing a means of communication. McGregor feels the device will help make the trip run smoothly. He said:

During Long Way Round we kept getting lost and had to rely on anything from landmarks to advice from locals in all sorts of languages to find our way so getting a proper navigational tool for Long Way Down was a real priority.

Weve been playing around with the Nokia 6110 Navigator before setting off and its just what we need to stay on track.

Doyle was managing director at Egghead and was previously general manager of Volkswagen. In his new role at 3 Doyle will be responsible for improving the networks communications.

3 Marketing Director John Penberthy-Smith said:

Alan has great experience of some really exciting brands and I am confident he can take 3s communications to customers and partners to the next level.

It is available on Orange and later on T-Mobile retailing at £338 for a non-contract handset and £50 on a mid-level network contract.

Touch is powered by Windows Mobile 6.0 and utilises a virtual keypad with a finger-touch screen similar to the iPhone and Prada LG.

It comes with 64MB of RAM and 1GB microSD card also included as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth compatibility. It also features a 2.8-inch screen and a two-megapixel camera.

John Wang said: We live in a push button world. Touch is the beginning of the touch-centric experience and in 10 years time we¹ll look back and realise its impact.

T-Mobile managing director Jim Hyde said: HTC is the next big thing. This is a mass market consumer device that will take the industry by storm.

Initial threads have discussed subjects such as European Telecom going bust and if theres a future for independent dealers.

The forum is free to access on the Mobile News website and has sections covering everything from networks to retail.

The forum is ideal for readers to interact. It gives them a place to air their gripes and ask questions to industry insiders said online editor Mark Sennett.

To view the forum simply click on the banner at the top of the page.

The phone which retails for £600 SIM-free is exclusive to Carphone Warehouse for six weeks. It comes with an all-glass front and is crafted from materials like titanium stainless steel and chrome.

Nokia director of communications Mark Squires said: The style and new materials used on this handset have made it unique and it seems to have caught the public interest.

We released it with the intention of bridging the gap between the two markets and it certainly seems to be doing that.

A spokesperson for Carphone stated that while sales figures were unavailable it is selling incredibly well and it expects that trend to continue.

The company is targeting around half a million phones this year. The Blow-It team is headed by configuration expert Paul Harris. He joins TMTI from European Telecom. Harris has experience of working with networks manufacturers and distributors on handset configuration.

TMTI founder Crispin Thomas said: TMTI offers a range of technical support services but until now we weren¹t involved in flashing ­ putting the operating system and customised content on the mobile. We¹ve now gone into that business.

Its a good match for us. After weve flashed the phone with the required software we can pop one of our technical support cards in the box. The TMTI brand will enable us to gain traction very rapidly.

Thomas added: Our pricing will be aggressive. We already work for the major players in the returns field and this can only strengthen relationships with our clients.

Blow-It will be run from TMTI¹s head office in Wiltshire but configuration work will be done at customers premises where required.