The service will be initially used on specific train routes with the plan to roll out the system to include other lines if successful.

Customers buying selected ?Bargain Berth tickets online for the Caledonian Sleeper overnight service between Scotland and London can now opt to have their ticket details and confirmation sent by text message to their mobile phone.

First ScotRail commercial director Peter William said: Most people have a mobile. This service means they can book their berth on the Caledonian Sleeper online and have confirmations sent to their phone. No paperwork no cost and no fuss.

Passengers simply turn up for their train show the text message to train staff and climb aboard.

The system has been set up in association with Derby-based Internet software company ICE Alliance.

ICE Alliance managing director Brian Gibbons said: Weve tested the service on many different computer platforms and its worked perfectly every time. People can have confidence in booking their tickets in this way.

O2 is now the UKs most competitive network on pricing due to its decision to remove roaming charges in Europe according to analyst house Pure Pricing. According to the analyst house the network is saving its customers up to 9 per month compared to an aggregation of tariffs from other networks.
Pure Pricing director Jo Lynch said: Propositions such as this and Vodafones Passport offer are reducing the uncertainty and overall costs associated with roaming. O2s offer can save customers between 2 and 9 against the other networks.
However this praise is countered by Lynch noting that the monthly charge customers must pay to take advantage of the deal means they have to know in advance how they will use their phone when roaming to guarantee some level of saving.

The deal will give 3.5 million 3 users access to programmes such as Coronation Street and Love Island.

3 chief executive Bob Fuller said: The partnership with ITV is a natural step for 3. We aim to build a complete mobile platform that meets all of our customers communication and entertainment needs on the move. It offers the first true mainstream experience of mobile TV and adds a new dimension to the traditional way our customers watch TV.

The service will be available from the autumn. Full details of the offer will be announced nearer the time.

Outgoing ITV chief executive Charles Allen said: This makes the ambition of fully streamed mobile TV a reality. Today is a real milestone in the development of TV on the go and with ITVs new broadband channel coming soon viewers will be able to access ITV content where when and how they choose.

Oranges Enable online credit-checking and registration system has crashed repeatedly and dealers have been forced to use Oranges Telereg phone system to log new customers and upgrades. But dealers have complained that Telereg has been equally troublesome and that they have had to queue for up to 25 minutes before being cut off and forced to re-dial.

One source said: Customers have been waiting in store for over an hour while weve attempted to put them through Enable and when thats crashed weve been forced phone up and wait for 25 minutes only for the line to go dead.

An Orange spokesperson said: For the past few weeks we have had a number of system issues that have caused long call queues into certain parts of the business.

l Meanwhile Orange confirmed the exit of head of independent retail Chris Hough last week after Hough applied for voluntary redundancy at the end of last month. Hough has accepted an interim directorship at Orange distributor Mainline.

Orange also confirmed the appointment of former Wanadoo sales director Steve Heald as Houghs replacement. Heald will be responsible for both mobile and broadband sales across dealer distributor and high street channels.

The Comedy Channel was first launched in the UK in July last year through media specialist Mobile Streams.

The channel offers Vodafone customers access to comedy content from comedians like Peter Kay and Tim Vine as well as Wallace & Gromit animation from Aardman.

Vodafone Ireland content services manager Sarah Chapman said:

We chose Mobile Streams as one of our main comedy partners following the success of the Vodafone UK service. It has extensive knowledge of the complexities of creating and maintaining a comedy channel for mobile.

She added: We also believe that this content will have strong appeal for our customers giving them access to bite-size entertainment on the move.

Nokia aims to grap a slice of the SatNav market by buying Berlin-based mapping and routing software provider gate5.

The deal was agreed at the beginning of September. Nokia executive vice-president and general manager multimedia Anssi Vanjoki said: The personal navigation device market is in a rapid growth phase with the global market expected to reach 15 million units in 2006 compared with eight million in 2005. By integrating maps and navigation capabilities into our devices Nokia will participate in this growth.

gate5 was founded in 1999 and offers mapping and navigation software to third-party SatNav devices. All applications are extendable with more than 5000 city guides travel guides or services.

Nokia will continue to support existing gate5 customers and platforms including Symbian Linux Windows Mobile Palm and Java.

Nokia plans to add mapping capabilities to devices such as its Nseries range and large display personal devices such as the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet.

The company expects to complete the acquisition by the fourth quarter of 2006 subject to regulatory approval.

NEC is pulling out of the UK and European handset market. According to sources close to the situation there will be around 31 redundancies at the company as a result.

The decision was taken by NEC MD Dave Payeppe who joined NEC from Avaya a year ago. Sources cite the reason for NECs departure is that 3G services havent taken off as the company had hoped.

None of the NECs 3G phones made in Japan work in UK and Europe which means that even handsets made abroad will not be imported to the region. NEC was selling around a million handsets in Europe including 500000 for the UK mainly supplied to 3.

The move can only be descibed as an ignominious end for a company that was market leader in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Mobile content provider Sybios has launched 3Bill a mobile marketing platform it claims allows any business to set up its own mobile marketing programme.

After users set up the platform using guided instructions 3Bill claims to allow them to upload content libraries of images or music and convert them to mobile formats and run different kinds of mobile campaign including voting polling competitions or donations.

Users can also select and run tariffs for premium SMS services and monitor revenues generated in real time.

Symbios CEO Martin montague claimed the platform was a one-stop shop that would allow companies to run mobile marketing campaigns without the need to use third parties.

The service costs GBP275 to set up plus GBP200 a month rental.

Vodafone UK has launched Your Price Plan and Your Extras – a contract that promises to mix the number of minutes texts and data on offer to subscribers in a flexible way.

The success of rival T-Mobiles Flext offering has shown the level of consumer demand for flexi-style packages. The Vodafone offering works by giving users a base number of minutes and texts at different price points together with one two or three free extras that can be used in effect to buy extra minutes texts or data services such as mobile TV.

For example a user signing up to an 18-month contract at GBP35 a month could get 750 minutes and 250 texts 500 minutes and 1000 texts or 500 minutes 500 texts and six months free mobile TV.

In preparation for the launch Vodafone said it had trained 4000 staff to sell and support the package.

Weve paid close attention to what contract customers want and what the market is currently offering said Vodafone UK director of consumer Tim Yates.

O2 is taking on 97 stores from The Links chain of 291. Of these 14 will replace existing O2 outlets because they have a better location.

The 14 replacement sites are in Balham Barking Bexleyheath Brent Cross East Ham Edmonton North Finchley Stratford Tooting Uxbridge Walthamstow Watford Wembley and Wood Green.

DSG will in effect run the remaining 194 Link stores for O2 until buyers have been found or their leases expire. Most of the remaining Link stores will be sold to other mobile phone retailers.

Pretty much anyone that is involved in selling mobile phones is interested said The Link managing director Nick Wood. The transmission period runs until the end of March.

Wood will retain his position until the last Link store is transferred or closed. It is very important that there is a consistency of leadership during this period he said. Opportunities within both DSG and O2 may arise. My plan is to ensure that staff are properly looked after.

and understand where they are.

O2 will take on all staff at the 97 Link stores under the same or improved employment terms. Staff at the remaining 194 Link outlets are expected to be taken on on the same conditions by the buyers.

O2 and DSG announced the exchange of contracts to Link staff at the end of July. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval from the EU due next month.