The money is claimed by people calling a hotline 0800 phone number being promoted through a series of national press ads.

The size of the cash back varies with the phone selected and is dependent on a new connection to BTCellnet through an Ericsson A1018 T10 T18 or T28.

The money is credited to the credit card or debit card used to buy the new phone and the customer must return the old phone with its battery and charger.

1st Line says it is Britains leading post-pay phone connector.

It was recently criticised by BBCs Watchdog for questionable sales tactics .

The ad campaign follows an internal review of KJCs marketing strategy. Bath advertising agency The Idea Works has been instructed to create an integrated campaign aimed at increasing mobile phone sales through retail mail order and corporate channels.

The company has also produced a new corporate identity which has been carried over into the rebranding of stores.

Media used in the campaign is national and local press direct mail and local radio.

KJC started up 12 years ago. It has 30 shops in the South of England and plans to open another 30 this year.

Said KJCs marketing manager Tim Luff:

We appointed The Idea Works because they showed an understanding of our business objectives and provided a creative rationale that would accelerate KJCs quest for pole position within the independent retail sector.

Scottish chartered accountant Gunn replaces Huw Evans who will be leaving the company after a handover period. Gunn joined Cellcom when it was a start-up in 1985 Evans joined European Telecom after its first finance director Max Ashton left when the company floated.

Gunn had an earlier career with British Aluminium Company Vestric and Expamet International before joining Cape Industries.

These new features will dramatically improve the quality of calls in noise environments indoors and outdoors said Eircells chief executive Stephen Brewer.

Eircells is the first mobile phone operator (in Ireland) to introduce this technology said Brewer.

The latest enhancements follow Eircellss introduction of EFR (Enhanced Full Rate) voice enhancement technology last November.

The network says it handles five million calls a day.

The new dealer bureau will provide smaller operations with a 48-hour turnaround repair service progress report procedure and customer care product range.

Dealers will also qualify for attractive rates on second-hand phone stock to enable them to offer replacement handsets on a short-term loan basis.

Many small dealers are damaging relations with customers by failing to provide a fast replacement or repair service said Intec sales and marketing director Charlo

Carabott.

They are needlessly returning handsets to manufacturers for repair which can take weeks rather than days.

Virgin says it has its own version of WAP written into the SIM card rather than the handset and that this will allow Virgin Mobile customers to access specific internet content from its site such as train time tables ticket information TV listings and music.

The service will be introduced within the next three months.

From the middle of this month Virgin Mobile will also be introducing a full e-mail service similar to the one already on offer from its joint partner One 2 One.

Customers will have an in-box and out-box on their mobile screen and will be able to send and receive messages equivalent to up to 400 lines of A4 type.

Conventional SMS restricts messages to 160 characters or less. Email addresses can be stored on the SIM.

There is also the facility to see when file attachments have been sent.

Virgin Mobile customers can already use the web to download up to 200 contact names and numbers from their PC.

Contacts are stored on Virgin Mobiles web site sent to the phone and stored on the SIM card.

And in a thinly-veiled dig at Oranges WAP phone Virgin Mobile MD Tom Alexander said:

Unlike some other mobile networks which equip only their premium-priced handsets with the most advanced technology we value all our customers and have put the UKs most powerful (32k) SIM card as a standard feature into each of our phones.

It will bring to 37 the number of GMCs MPC shops in Essex Kent Sussex Cambridgeshire Lincolnshire Norfolk Suffolk and Midlands.

The disposal of our retail arm allows us to focus on the core areas of our business that provide the greatest long-term opportunities said MoCos managing director Andrew Whelan.

GMC says it is now one of the top five independent dealerships in the UK.

With 37 stores and more acquisitions planned we are gradually becoming a major player with 5000 connections a month claimed GMC managing director Graham Cornhill.

GMC is projecting a turnover of 14 million for its current financial year and will be employing more than 140 staff.

Vodafone has also created a WAP Directory which will contain a list of latest sites which are accessible to customers with WAP compatible mobile phones and devices

New partners include: WHSmith On-line (for buying books and CDs and accessing content such as bestseller lists quizzes and educational reference material) Affinity Internet (games and electronic wallet and payment mechanisms) Psion and Paragon Software (synchronisation services to manage personal information transfer between desktop handheld devices and mobile phones) Independent Digital and BBC (news and sport) Warburg Dillon Read (financial news) OAG (air and travel schedules) and the Met Office for weather reports.

Our partners will enable us to bring richer content and services to Vodafones interactive and WAP customers commented Paul Donovan Vodafones commercial and marketing director.

This is the beginning of a major shift in internet access from the fixed PC to the mobile phone. With the advent of m-commerce later this year customers will have a shopping centre at their fingertips.

The Vodafone WAP Directory provides a direct click through from WAP mobile devices to any of the sites listed. The sites are listed by category and will include a wide range of independent sites as well as Vodafone and Vodafone partner sites.

WAP services developers and companies world-wide are currently being offered free registration to the Vodafone WAP Directory.

Ian Germer head of Vodafone UKs internet services said:

The directory will help make our customers aware of the world of information available to them through their mobile phones as well as encouraging third parties to develop WAP compatible internet sites and services.

He is Tim Mundy who moves from Telford automotive company Sonner Alibert.

MPRC currently fixes 23000 mobile phones a month. It says 85 per cent of these are returned to customers within 24 hours.

The company which employs 110 staff recently became authorised by French manufacturer Sagem to service its phones on the One 2 One network.

It claims turnover has increased from 25000 in 1996 to 3.5 million last year.

A five-judge court is now hearing the appeal Doyle and Meteor are trying to have the pro-Orange decision reversed. The action has been heard over the last three weeks.

Last years Orange-initiated action lasted 50 days resulting in a 247 page reserved judgement which prevented the ODTR from issuing the licence to Meteor Mobile.

The judgement noted that the Directors decision was objectively biased and unreasonable.

This meant the licence either had to go to to Orange (with Meteor Mobile threatening to sue the Director) or a re-run of the application process had to be carried out

Justice Macken had also ruled that Doyles failure to give Orange adequate reasons for the licence refusal was wrong in law.

There was no auction process during the first stage a set price of IR 10m had been agreed and only Meteor and Orange had indicated they wished to proceed.

In another case in Dublins High Court Meridian Communications is claiming that ircell was intent in putting it out of business by not allowing it to act as an airtime reseller.

Additionally Meridian is claiming that ircells actions are due to it wishing to maintain its dominant position within the Irish cellular marketplace.

Cellular 3 and Meridian are seeking damages from ircell due to the threat of ending a VDA (Volume Discount Agreement) for airtime that was resold to customers of Cellular 3.

The action before Mr Justice OHiggins is expected to last a month.

Cellular 3/Meridian are claiming damages against ircell for abuse of its dominant position and breach of contract. They also are seeking a declaration that ircell should be prevented from terminating the VDA for airtime.

In court counsel for Cellular 3 claimed that their business was suffering cash-flow problems due to difficulties with the ircell billing system. This prevented them billing their own customers for airtime used.

ircell allegedly delayed the issuing forms and transferring subscribers from ircell to Cellular 3.

ircell rejected the claims accusing Meridian of using the Court to provide a network of telecommunications service for which a licence is required. ircell is claiming that the action should be dismissed by reason of this alleged illegality. The case continues.