The companys failure was due to falling orders and the loss of its account to supply its largest customer Co-Op with Orange pre-pay phones and vouchers.

The company is still trading while joint administrators Roger Oldfield and Jim Tucker try to sell it as a going concern.

Full details of the companys trading position were yet to be released as Mobile News went to press last week. However a KPMG spokesperson confirmed last Wednesday night:

New World Payphones is in the hands of administrative receivers. The administrators wish to sell it as a going concern and are seeking interested buyers.

The company will be working jointly to develop a platform capable of becoming the global standard for 3G phones. The intention is to pool their knowledge and produce actual handsets in the near future.

At the same time Matsushita and NEC announced their progress on the joint development of a platform for 3G mobile handsets as well as its application software.

In their first public statement since the firms formed a development alliance last August Matsushita and NEC announced that they have completed the core architecture design which will be used in the 3G mobile handset platform.

This architecture will be used in future NEC and Matsushita 3G mobile handsets and may be licensed to other companies that are interested in using the platform.

Matsushita and NEC have started software developmental activities by establishing a joint development in Yokohama named the 3G Mobile Collaboration Office which aims to speed up product development.

Matsushita and NEC say they have completed the first step in advancing their global strategy for 3G mobile handsets in such areas as technical standardisation core technology and software and product assessment.

Two 30-second commercials promote the up and coming DB7000 and a prototype 3G phone.

The TV burst is backed by a six-week ad campaign in The Times to boost awareness of NECs role in 3G developments.

The ads and two TV commercials carry NECs latest slogan

Empowered by Innovation.

Siemens Mobile Devices managing director Jonathan Bate said:

We would like to thank Sue Rowe for her contribution over the last 10 years. We are sorry to see her go but she has left to pursue other interests.

Bate denies that Rowe may have been unhappy with Siemens decision to halt and review its marketing spend.

The last six months have been difficult for everyone. But we have finalised our plans for this year and things will start moving again.

Amex will consolidate all telecoms expenses paid for on the

Corporate Card into management information files for finance and purchasing executives who manage corporate expense management.

BTCellnet has endorsed the arrangement. The networks partnership marketing director Gary Stevens said:

The American Express solution eases processing of payment and expense management. We are delighted to be working with

American Express to help our mutual customers maximise their process efficiencies.

A German accessory distributor called More International has set up new UK offices.

Its UK managing director is Barry Colman who formerly worked for Fonerange and the accessory division of defunct Kall.

He says the company plans to target the bigger high street retailers but has no plans to supply to smaller dealers. More was the subject of failed takeover and partnership attempts from Fonerange and more recently Kondor.

Colman told Mobile News.

The UK accessory companies were seeking alliances with overseas distributors to offer a pan-European service. But it hasnt really materialised.

We are one of the first to come in to the UK to do this. We have set up distribution agreements in Germany with the top service providers and retailers and we aim to replicate that success in the UK.

We supply to Hutchison Telecom Carphone Warehouses 110 German Phone House outlets and three or four major retail chains.

There is an opportunity in the UK because we dont have very high overheads.

Ora failed because it didnt have much market share and its sales didnt support its huge overheads. Last year we turned over DM12 million employing just 20 people.

To be successful you need to have your systems and logistics right because margins are low. The cost of running a warehouse in the UK is five times more than in Germany. We have already been in meetings with The Carphone Warehouses European accessory co-ordinator. And we will be talking to other companies. The bigger companies want one product one price.

We are confident we can break into the UK market. It is harder to get a customer than to lose one. People like Dixons group has long standing relationships with suppliers but it cannot rely solely on one supplier.

We will offer a quality alternative. Our expectations are conservative. We will be looking to take a small percentage of volumes from the blue-chip companies.

We wont be catering for the smaller independent dealer market. It is too difficult to value.

Before Orange clawed back commission if customers downgraded their tariffs within the first three months of the contract period. Loughborough dealer Paul Hull of PSH Telecom says Orange has now extended this penalty period to four months.

He says this has forced him to impose new terms and conditions on customers buying or upgrading Orange handsets.

Hull says Orange is not doing itself any favours. The new four-month period could mean dealers encourage their customers to sign to another network rather than upgrade their phone and remain with Orange.

This is because new connection bonuses are higher than upgrade bonuses.

Hull says there is continuing dismay in the dealer community that Oranges own retail shops are offering better upgrade terms to customers than the independent dealers.

Im concerned that Orange shops will offer a customer an Ericsson T68 phone for 50 as an upgrade price and also give them 60 cashback for trading in their old phone. Orange is not being fair. We cant afford to match that sort of deal.

Upgrade commissions are still too low. If the networks paid increased commissions on upgrades churn would stop because dealers wouldnt have to swap customers to other networks to earn a living Hull said.

I would rather work with networks than against them. But they are screwing us by offering better deals through their own shops and chains like The Carphone Warehouse.

We can lose commission if a customer downgrades their tariff within four months. Once the customer has signed we cant control what they do.

Customers want to pay as little as they can for the handset. This inevitably means they upgrade to a higher tariff to get a better deal on the handset.

Orange head of sales Stuart Henry says dealers have nothing to worry about if they connect customers to the right tariff.

Where retailers connect consumers to the appropriate tariff dependent on that customers needs they should not have any concerns about losing commission. Orange will continue to reward the channel for the quality of customers they bring to our network said Henry.

Orange said it would pay higher commissions to dealers when customers upgrade the tariff. But Hull is not convinced:

From now on in we will set our own terms and conditions for the sale. We will tell customers that they will be sent a bill if they downgrade the tariff within four months. We are within our rights to do this.

Hull is also complaining about Oranges dealer promotions for its Everytime tariffs.

A free portable CD player will be given to anyone connecting to Oranges Everytime 20 and 200 tariffs.

But only Orange retail stores Orange business specialists The Carphone Warehouse and PC World can offer Oranges Everytime Business which offers a one months free line rental to businesses connecting to Orange Everytime 200 (two months for Orange Everytime 400 and 1000 tariffs).

A free handset upgrade is offered after 12 months.

The independent dealer is losing out again. How can PC World and Oranges own shops offer this when we cant? Its another stab in the back for the independent said Hull.

An Orange spokesperson replied:

We chose Orange Business specialists because they are equipped to service small business customers. Only PC World stores that have a team of business advisors will be offering the promotion.

We would like more dealers to become Orange Business specialists so that they can offer similar promotions.

Creditors are expected to be offered repayment of 9p in the pound.

The Paus sold the Fone Range brand only to Elite Mobile Accessories which has nothing to do with the administration.

Paragon was the name of Fone Ranges holding company. Last June Paragons creditors approved an offer of 9p in the pound after the Paus subsidiary Blue-I (ex-Fone Range partnerships) agreed to pay Paragon a goodwill payment of 300000 to release its shares.

Blue-I also purchased 100000 of stock and equipment. Blue-I owns licences to distribute accessories for Warner Brothers and Coca-Cola.

The administration will shortly come to a close. After this a liquidator will pay the money to creditors in a prescribed order.

The actual amount creditors get will depend on whether Blue-I continues to pay the deferred goodwill payments to the agreed deadlines. Preferential creditors will be first in line. Unsecured creditors should get something back. The nine pence in the pound rate was only a rough estimate.

This means Carphone Warehouse has won its category every year for eight years while 20:20 collects its fifth best Distributor Award in a row.

Another repeat winner was Ternhill Communications (Best Small Dealer).

Samsung broke Nokias run of luck for six of the eight Awards by winning Best Manufacturer.

Caudwell Groups accessory divison Dextra won the award for Best Distributor (Handsets).

Full Mobile News Awards results are on our web site: www.mobilenews.uk.com