3 is to scrap roaming charges and allow subscribers to make calls when roaming on other 3 networks at standard rates.

Its new pricing policy called 3 Like Home permits UK customers to make calls on 3 networks in Australia Austria Denmark Hong Kong Italy the Republic of Ireland and Sweden for a similar price as calls in the UK.

The same principle will apply to SMS MMS video calling and data services.

3 Group managing director of European Telecommunications Christian Salbaing said: The launch of the 3 Like Home scheme will significantly benefit our customers as they travel between the 3 Groups networks. It underlines our commitment to fair treatment and reasonable pricing for all our customers.

Customers will now only face higher roaming charges if they roam onto a non-3 network because of the high wholesale charges of many of its roaming partners said Salbaing.

3 said the reductions were in line with the European Commissions campaign to reduce the cost of mobile calls when roaming in Europe.

O2 UK head of retail marketing Becky Hughes has moved to a new role within parent company Telef³nicas trade marketing division.

Hughes will be replaced by Mark Garrad until a permanent replacement is found.

Hughes who joined O2 from Carphone Warehouse in May 2003 will work on broadband and digital TV sales in third party channels. Her transfer to Telef³nica is a secondment for an initial period of six months.

O2 has also appointed Jason Duffy as head of sales for retail. Both Garrad and Duffy will report to O2 general manager of retail Paula Cave. Mark Stansfeld O2 UK Sales Director leads the division.

Duffy said that integration of the 96 stores taken from The Link will be completed in mid-February taking O2 s retail estate to 400 shops. Old O2 stores will be refurbished starting in six weeks time.
Duffy said: We are going to build on the customer experience both internally and externally because if the staff are happy that will be passed down and will make our customers happy as they will get the best customer service. My goal is essentially to make O2 the most trusted and talked about retailer on the high street.
Duffy has been with O2 for 12 years. He started out as a trainee sales adviser in a Cellnet store and rose through the ranks. His history with the company counts in his favour he said.
I hope that shop floor staff will trust me more because of my past history he said.
Seperately O2 has appointed Mark Garrad as head of retail marketing. Garrad has worked for O2 since September 2005 across its franchise activity and channel strategy for retail.
He replaces Becky Hughes for an interim period of six months. Hughes has transferred to parent company Telefonica where she will work on broadband and digital TV sales in third-party channels.
Hughes joined O2 from Carphone Warehouse in May 2003.
Both Garrad and Duffy will report to new O2 general manager of retail Paula Cave.

As many as 40 per cent of new customers to a network give up on sending an MMS because they cannot configure their handsets properly.
In response Dublin-based software company Arantech will launch Touchpoint next month at 3GSM in Barcelona. It is software that monitors all aspects of customer usage and provides networks with data on failed calls and services.
Arantech marketing and communications officer Loughlin O Nolan claimed that four of the world s six major networks are already trialling the service. The two others are expected on board by the end of 2007 according to O Nolan.
The old days of expecting a dealer to configure a handset for MMS and other facilities are fading which means that customers often have to configure the mobile themselves he said. It s simply beyond many customers so they just give up and the network loses the potential extra revenue that those services could bring them.
O Nolan explained that the software allows networks to identify which customers are experiencing problems and why it happens so customer support staff can proactively call them and help out.
He claimed that one of the triallists has discovered missed MMS revenues to the tune of 100000 ( 67000) in one week alone.
What our software does is to monitor all aspects of the network in real time all of the time he said.
It can identify any aspect of customer problems presenting that information in different forms to the sales accounting and customer service sections of a carrier.

The 100 winners were nominated by their co-workers rather than executives for the five-day all-expenses-paid trip.
Gaining Legends status for the second year running are P1 North Division regional manager Paul Burns and Haymarket store manager Marny Hussain.

Dextra Solutions saw a 15 per cent rise in the sale of mobile phone handsfree car kits in December 2006 compared with the previous year.
The increase is being attributed to a growing awareness of tougher penalties that will become law on the 27 February. The fixed penalty fine will be doubled to 60 for drivers handling a phone with three points added to their licence.
A recent survey for The Carphone Warehouse by YouGov found that 43 per cent of men and 25 per cent of woman hold a phone while driving.
Dextra Solutions managing director James Browning said: People finally seem to be getting the message that the only way to use a mobile when driving a car is to use a hands-free car kit.

3 announced in October that it had acquired a portfolio of 95 retail sites most of them former Link outlets.
One concession staffer said: It is a very bad idea opening a standalone over the way from a concession. The bosses don t care how it affects us.
Another commented: We are going to lose our customers. Our target based bonuses will suffer.
But a 3 spokesman claimed only a handful of stores were affected.

The new W200i available in Q2 in black or white replaces the W300i and includes storage for up to 37 full-length tracks and a dedicated Walkman key. It also enables users to pre-set up to 20 radio stations.
Sony Ericsson head of product marketing Steve Walker said: The W200i is an affordable music phone that complements your existing MP3 player.
The W200i includes a 4x digital zoom and a VGA camera as well as push email and PC synchronisation.
Sony Ericsson also released some teaser images of its new W880i Walkman phone though remained tight-lipped about its features.

20:20 Logistics has appointed Peter Hubbard as its new managing director.

Hubbard former vice president and general manager of Dell Corporation replaces Rod Millar who left in November.

20:20 Mobile Group CEO Mark Ryan said: Peter brings with him a wealth of experience of working for the worlds largest supplier of computers. He has considerable experience of delivering results within a dynamic constantly changing market.

Hubbard said: 20:20 Logistics is a great business that operates in a dynamic and constantly changing market. Im looking forward to the challenge of taking the business forward.

Hubbard spent 11 years at Dell running various sales and marketing functions across the business.

Both dealers and distribution are backing 3 s new quality-based incentive. The new 40 direct debit bonus available only if customers sign up to contracts on direct debit replaces its old guerrilla bonus that was based on volume. The bonus is paid to distributors and 3 direct dealers in the fifth month of a customer s contract instead of the first as previously. It will not be paid if customers cancel their contract within the first four months or move to another form of payment.
All distributors will pass the money down to dealers in the fifth month instead of paying commission upfront.
Fone Logistics head of marketing Julien Parven said: It s good news for the dealer channel. It will clean up some of the business and stop two-box tricks and under-the-table offerings.
MoCo director of marketing and direct sales Harvey Alexander said: It is a step forward to deliver quality in the industry. Rewarding quality forces the industry to clean up.
Avenir managing director Tanny Price said: We will support 3 s drive for quality. All distributors will welcome initiatives like this as they drive good quality connections.
But Sprint communications managing director Paul Leonard pointed out that dealers were not always to blame. It s not a bad way of remunerating he said. But sometimes it isn t the dealer s fault it is the network that vets customers.