Vodafones UK chief operating officer Gavin Darby tastefully arranges Sim cards into a British kite mark symbol in a noble attempt to inject some excitement into the stunning news that Vodafone is the first UK mobile operator to have had its ISO 9001 registration upgraded from the 1994 to 2000 version.

An unemployed Moroccan man has been charged with two counts of dishonestly handling a stolen mobile phone.

Younes Akoub (24) is also charged with conspiracy to defraud London Underground out of more than 500000 between last August and January.

He is further charged with handling a stolen credit card last year at a branch of Tesco.

He was ordered not to move from his home address in

Wembley North London.

The aim of the new business is to support well-known high street multiples with improved call revenue and increased customer loyalty by managing all aspects of their mobile business from handsets and accessories to data products through Phones Internationals Sim-free distribution business its recently-formed airtime service provider business Generation

Telecom and repair division

Phone Fix.

The newly-formed Data Select Retail Solutions is being headed by ex-Vodafone man Kevin Treanor who developed Vodafones Pay As You Talk for the retail channel.

Mobile products and services are unlike other categories in that they require management and implementation from a position of acute understanding and market awareness Treanor said.

The aim is to operate along the lines of a consultancy to maximise the retailer opportunities from mobile products and related services said Treanor who is in talks with a number of major retail chains.

Treanor was previously with

North London-based service provider Peoples Phone prior to its acquisition by Vodafone where he became head of sales responsible for sales management retail development product procurement and support.

Unique Distributions customers can look forward to some fantastic products and exciting incentives from SonyEricsson within the coming months said Unique Distribution MD Angus Dawe.

We are very excited by the prospect of working with a manufacturer that is dedicated to building a world-leading brand Dawe added.

SonyEricsson product and technology training has been scheduled to bring Unique Distribution up to speed on the range of

SonyEricsson products.

Unique is also a Nokia distributor.

A statement issued by the company said:

We are actively pursuing acquisition opportunities.

An acquisition coinciding with the listing of the company would have required the withdrawal of the application.

We will review the opportunity to join the Ofex or AIM markets in the future.

Baker Tilly the advisors who handled the aborted flotation said it was theoretically possible that a company applying for a flotation and making an acquisition could have its flotation attempt delayed.

Investors will be looking at the management track record growth prospects and whether the company is adequately financed.

The market for telecom stocks is not ideal now. The flotation would have raised the profile of TAP and given it some status. However it is not the ideal time to do it given the state of the market said Baker Tilly partner Chiltern Taylor.

Acquisition plans notwithstanding The Accessory People was considering going to the market at a very difficult time.

Investor sentiment in the accessories market is at rock-bottom following the collapse of Ora and the slowdown in mobile phone sales.

Potential investors in TAP would also have noted that the company lacks blue-chip contracts with the networks and top retailers such as The Carphone Warehouse and relies on sales to independent retailers a sector of the market that has been hit particularly hard.

The company was also a supplier to The Phone People which went into liquidation on January 8.

Around 125 independent retailers and all the members of Mainlines m-viron network will participate in the promotion.

Customers who buy a promotional Nokia handset will be entered into a draw to win a Volkswagen Beetle. Participating stores will giving away prizes such as mountain bikes CD players and electronic personal organisers.

Dealers will have weekly connection targets based on their 2002 volumes plus a percentage increase. Points are allocated based on achieving and exceeding the target. Weekly league tables will show dealers how close they are to winning one of the top prizes.

The leading dealer from each of the three league tables (m-viron B2B and retail) will win a luxury week for two to Hong Kong.

There will also be runners-up prizes of either a home cinema package personal computer or holiday vouchers each valued at up to 1000.

Martin Pennell (18) and a 17-year-old who cannot be named were freed on strict bail conditions which include an order for them to stay indoors between 10pm and 7am daily reporting to police and a prohibition on them travelling on any Tube or mainland train.

Both are charged with violent disorder on a train between London Bridge and New Cross on November 22 in which they robbed two passengers of their mobile phones.

Fourth-quarter growth was due to expansion through The Carphone Warehouse The Link Dixons Phone People and Argos.

It brings the total number of new customers acquired by Virgin Mobile last year to 770549 and its total customer base to 1445492. Virgin more than tripled market share in Q4 compared to the same period in 2000.

The call was made last week between John de Wit chief executive of Vodafone Spain using a single-mode 3G handset and Darryl Green president of J-Phone using a Japanese single-mode 3G mobile.

The call was carried from and to Vodafones Spanish and Japanese 3G networks using the signalling links and Cable & Wireless Vodafones preferred international carrier.

Vodafone (Spain) was awarded its 3G licence in March 2000. A progressive roll-out of its 3G network with its principal infrastructure supplier Nortel Networks has been underway since August last year.

Vodafone Spain currently has a network of 120 masts with UMTS coverage in 20 Spanish towns and cities.

Vodafone Spain says that it is on target to launch its 3G network in the second half of 2002 subject to the availability of dual-mode GPRS/3G handsets.

J-Phone was awarded one of three licences to operate 3G mobile services in Japan in May 2000.

J-Phone says it is currently well advanced in its development of a 3G W-CDMA mobile platform and expects to commence offering 3G services in Japan this June.

This will initially span the Metropolitan Tokyo area using an Ericsson W-CDMA network then all major Japanese cities from October.

Todays roaming calls have brought the benefits of 3G mobile technology a step closer to reality. We have demonstrated the new possibilities 3Gs global standards bring said Vodafone head of global products Thomas Geitner.

We are aiming for 100 stores and we should get there in the next few months said Cityphone managing director Barry Donaghey.

Donaghey reckons The WAP Stores downfall was down to a few bad decisions.

I still believe [WAP Store MD] Graham Cornhill is one of the best retail heads in the country. He overstretched himself at the wrong time. They bought the wrong shops at the wrong money. The stores we didnt buy were loss-makers. He made a few mistakes but the WAP Store culture was good. It is one of the saddest collapses in this industry.

The WAP deal gives Cityphone 75 stores. The 30 WAP Stores will be rebranded in Cityphones retail trading name – Talk4All – within a few months.

Retail is tough right now. We are not having a heyday with it. Our long-term strategy was to have a major retail force. The reason we have been successful is because we try to do things differently. Our core business is distribution said Donaghey.

Ninety per cent of the industry has no direction right now. There is good business out there. People need to start selling rather than giving product away.

Buying The WAP Stores is more a branding exercise. It rounds the company off. Combined together the retail outlets and direct sales force give us over 10000 connections per month. It means we are our own biggest customer to the distribution business.