The group is to comprise manufacturers networks academics and law enforcement agencies.

Home Office crime reduction minister Vernon Coaker said: Rapidly changing technologies have given a boost to opportunistic criminals. Mobile phone crime can best be tackled when the handset is still on the drawing board. Manufacturers and networks have made considerable progress in tackling mobile crime but more can be done.

According to the British Crime Survey two per cent of mobile phone owners suffered a theft in the past year. Last month 500 handsets were seized and 15 people arrested for mobile phone crime in London.

Kenny McDonald of the National Mobile Phone Crime Unit said the rate of mobile crime in London had been cut by 5.7 per cent from last year. He said: The networks understand the impact of this crime where they used to have a sterile and detached approach. Theyve all hit their blocking targets of 90 per cent.

The committee said measures tackling missing trader fraud were unsustainable and the reverse charge ruling would cause fraud to spread to other industries. It called on the UK Government to work with other EU member states to implement a more efficient system for taxing intra-community transactions.

It said: While the amount of money being lost in the UK may have fallen in 2006/7 mutation into other industry sectors will bring a subsequent rise in fraud levels.

A wide-ranging change to the VAT system is required and the Government should start discussions with the European Commission and other member states on the form this should take.

It said extended verification will have limited effect as fraudsters will target goods free of such stringent checks. It will also harm legitimate traders attempting to claim back VAT said the committee which wants a flat VAT rate of 15 per cent to be applied to all EU cross-border transactions.

Dass Solicitors Robert Holland said: The report paints a pretty bleak picture but theres no alternative than to paint it.

Meanwhile the emergence of contra trading has also caused alarm. It is regarded as the latest development in VAT carousel fraud where carousels are linked across borders to offset losses in one country against another making it more difficult to track where tax has been unpaid.

Holland said contra trading had not reached the extent of carousel fraud but it could involve different types of goods which would be difficult to track between each chain.

The combined fixed and mobile phone service which uses Wi-Fi technology promised to reduce customers bills by offering cheaper landline prices with the features of a mobile.

However in addition to the disappointing number of new customers BTs total mobile connections has fallen from 370000 in June 2005 to 314000 in March 2007 with consumer mobile connections now standing at just 87000 following a peak of 187000 in March 2005.

BT head of mobility Steve Andrews admitted a lack of Wi-Fi devices at its launch proved to be a setback and added the advertising for the product could also have been clearer but remained confident the upsurge in Wi-Fi devices would boost uptake.

GSMA chief commercial officer Bill Gajda said: To realise the potential of mobile advertising the advertising content and mobile industries need to come together to better define what phone advertising should look like and how to measure its effectiveness.

The GSMA intends to establish standards for adverts and content as well as measuring effectiveness. The programme will also promote codes of conduct for networks and advertisers. Personal privacy safeguards will also be addressed.

Orange director of market development for group customer marketing Ben Hirsch said: By working together to define a common approach we can ensure it serves advertisers and customers in the most effective way.

3 UK marketing director John Penberthy-Smith added: We support this initiative as it will help ensure mobile networks offer a consistent inventory.

For the full story see the latest edition of Mobile News.

The GSMA said the report was unbalanced would cause undue concern among parents and delay the roll out of wireless networks.

The programme said the signal strength of a Wi-Fi network in a school classroom was three times higher than a mobile phone mast. Panorama said the findings were of concern to parents as childrens skulls absorb more radiation than adults.

The findings prompted Health Protection Agency (HPA) chairman Sir William Stewart to call for an inspection of Wi-Fis health effects.

But GSMA director of research Jack Rowley told Mobile News Stewarts recommendations would create unnecessary worry and contradicted the HPAs own website.

At the time of going to press the HPA website said there was no consistent evidence of health effects from radio frequency exposures below guideline levels and therefore no reason why schools and others should not use Wi-Fi equipment.

Rowley said: The Panorama programme showed very unbalanced reporting that didnt reflect the consensus of the scientific community and will contribute to peoples anxiety. It will also contribute to delays in the provision of services.

Rowley said reviews from over 100 international organisations listed on the GSMA website as well as a study conducted by the EUs Scientific Committee for Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks released in May concluded current international Wi-Fi standards posed no health risk.

He explained: The exposures of wireless networks are very low even for heavy users. The actual transmission time is very short about 15 minutes in 24 hours which is hundreds of times below the acceptable standard.

But Rowley said there was a need for ongoing research and clearer communication to the public.

A Vodafone spokeswoman also referred to the HPA websites statement and outlined a review published by the Irish Government in March which concluded no adverse short or long term health effects have been shown to occur.

Orange said it saw no reason to treat the effects of Wi-Fi equipment as a special case. A spokesperson said: Oranges wireless broadband transmits at 2.4 GHz which is a frequency already used by a number of household items like baby monitors and garage door controls.

The World Health Organisation website claims: There have been no adverse health consequences established from exposure to RF fields at levels below the international guidelines on exposure limits published by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). The ICNIRP guidelines were developed to limit human exposure to electromagnetic fields and the limits incorporate large safety factors.

Rob Conway chief executive of industry body the GSMA said: These proposals are designed to further a narrow short-term and populist agenda and run counter to the wider interests of consumers the business community and ultimately the European Union.

The regulation agreed on May 23 by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers and backed by the UK House of Lords sets a cap of 0.49 (33p) a minute for roaming calls within the EU and a maximum charge of 0.24 to receive a roaming call. These rates are to fall to 0.43 and 0.19 respectively by 2009.

Customers will have three months after the regulation is adopted to choose whether they want to opt for the Eurotariff or an operator-provided package. If they do not make a choice the Eurotariff will apply by default.

The European Commission will re-evaluate the regulation after it has been in effect for three years.

Although the charges were scheduled to take effect by the end of June ministers in the Council of the EU are pushing for the new rates to come into effect earlier.

The GSMA has branded the regulation unnecessary and predicted it would curb competition and harm consumers. UK networks offer better roaming packages than the regulatory caps will deliver it claimed.

Conway said: The regulation is unnecessary as operators are delivering increasingly good value on roaming services. The average cost of calls in Europe is now 29 per cent lower than in 2005.

He added: Most of the network price plans offer volume discounts that are better value for many customers than rigid price caps. Under some plans he noted the cost of a two-minute outgoing call on the most popular roaming routes can be as little as 0.33 a minute.

Price declines have been driven by innovation and competition and have been achieved without the market distortions and unintended consequences that would be caused by regulation he said.

Vodafone argued that its customers had already seen the average cost of European voice roaming fall by over 40 per cent since summer 2005 with the introduction of Vodafone Passport and Vodafone World.

Vodafone chief executive Arun Sarin said: Twelve million customers have chosen our Passport tariff which already offers a better deal than the proposed Eurotariff.

Networks also complained the regulation required them to contact all their customers within a month of its introduction to inform them of the changes. It would also be difficult to move customers to new tariffs in the required time frame they said.

But the House of Lords EU internal market sub-committee chairman Lord Freeman said the European Parliament was right to introduce the roaming caps. However he criticised the decision to include caps on retail charges expressing concern they would stifle competition and discourage innovation.

Freeman said: People have been overcharged for using their phones abroad for too long and it has become clear the market would not have resolved this issue alone. This vote should ensure we move towards a fairer system.

However we feel averaged wholesale caps rather than retail price caps could have ensured customer savings while maintaining competition and innovation.

The vote was hailed a victory for consumers by the European Parliaments Socialist Group but not drastic enough.

Mobile phone operators are making huge profits from us all and we could have gone further said Maltese Socialist MEP Joseph Muscat.

Microsoft UK mobility business manager Jason Langridge said: All the major networks are on board and weve recently added LG and Toshiba to our handset range.

The upgraded service allows users to view emails in their original HTML format and displays text and images as they would be seen on a PC. It also integrates Windows Live Messenger and supports live mail.

The deal has seen the creation of Unique Telecom a division of Unique providing a one-stop business solution to compliment its existing mobile convergence propositions.

Daisy and Unique have developed four products for small and medium businesses including highly competitive call tariffs and discounts against BT Retail line rentals plus three bundled solutions including inclusive minutes line rental and broadband options. Customers can also tailor-make their own tariffs and will have access to Daisys online billing as well as business advisors.

Uniques business partners will receive up-front commission payments and a wider product portfolio including greater business mobile handsets and accessories from Nokia and Samsung mobile push email and data solutions support services and IMEI management along with VoIP and O2 business connections.

Daisy CEO Matthew Riley said: The relationship lets Unique business partners expand into fixed-line while Daisys products are taken to a completely new customer base.

Daisy has provided Unique with highly trained field and office staff while business partners have access to a comprehensive portfolio of dual-branded POS and sales tools.

Unique chairman John McFarnon said: We have developed the service to mirror the mobile contract commission concept where payments of up to £125 per line provide an exciting new revenue stream for independent mobile specialist resellers targeting business users.

A 3 spokesman admitted: Its about refreshing the point of sale. Its a standard procedure for all dealers not just Q Club members. Dealers who arent meeting expectations will be asked to take them down. They won¹t be replaced.

Dealers were baffled but unsurprised. Karl May joint owner of Manchester-based MK Mobiles said: 3 told me to take its stands down. Without them how do we draw attention to its offers?

One Cardiff dealer said: It hardly surprises me. It is another rash move on 3s part.