mobile news #543

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B2B dealer Sunrise Associates has built what it claims is the world’s first fully hosted customer relationship management (CRM) system designed specifically for the B2B mobile channel.

The CRM, called Atlas, took 18 months to build at a cost of more than £250,000.

Sunsrise MD James Evans, who has 20 years’ sales experience in telecoms, said Atlas is the most secure, affordable and efficient CRM available on the market.

He claims it will help B2B mobile dealers better manage their customers and staff, boosting retention levels and maximising profitability.

Evans said: “We couldn’t find a solution to meet the complete needs of a dealer in today’s market, so we decided to build

our own. We’ve tried the likes of Sales Force and Microsoft Dynamics, but they have been designed to be one-size-fits-all solutions – unless you can afford to spend hundred or thousands of pounds customising them.

“Atlas has been built by a dealer for dealers. Every single aspect is designed to help dealers become more efficient and manage our business and customers better than we have before.”

Cost and features Atlas requires a broadband connection and can be accessed securely from any connected device, including PC, laptops and tablets.

It runs on a Citrix platform which, Evans claims, provides the same levels of security as an online bank.

The CRM is available as part of a licence agreement, starting from £45 per month per user. Prices will increase based on

the number of services added. Evans said Atlas has been

built and priced with smaller dealers in mind, adding the firm is close to agreeing deals with two airtime distributors to push the product.

Features available include detailed access and information on all customers including user names, account contact, SIM number, handset IMEI, renewal dates and any additional products and services attached to the account.

Emails to and from the customer can also be automatically stored to Atlas user accounts.

Staff managementSunrise has also partnered with Carphone Warehouse Business to provide users with a live link to its virtual warehouse, offering live updates on stock availability and price.

The CRM can also provide extensive detailed information

on individual employee performance. Examples include number of calls made, prospects, callbacks, detailed analysis of success rate ratio, breakdown of networks connected, ARPU and add-ons such as fixed-line, tracking or IT services.

Atlas also includes a deal builder, providing a full breakdown of costs and earning, which Evans claims is equally ideal for those in the IT and fixed-line market looking to add mobile to their offerings.

“No one has anything similar to this,” said Evans.

“I’ve been selling for 20 years and I know how hard it can be. I’m not arrogant enough to think I know it all, but I do know what needs to be done to motivate, generate and manage sales teams to perform.

“All I’ve done is use the principles and put them in to a system which removes waste and makes the process as efficient as possible.”

Six telecoms dealers had their livelihoods “destroyed” after the UK government allegedly breached EU rules by banning the commercial use of GSM gateways (COMUGS) in 1999, the High Court has heard.

As reported in the last issue of Mobile News (542), the six firms – Floe Telecom, Recall Support Services, EasyAir, Packet Media, VIP Communications* and Edge Telecommunications** – are attempting to reclaim damages of £413 million from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

On July 1, Lord Justice Rose heard from Monica Carss-Frisk of Blackstone Chambers, counsel for the six firms, that there was “very little evidence” the government had taken EU law into consideration when making its 1999 decision.

EU rules state that member states cannot restrict the use of telecoms equipment unless it causes harmful interference. Carss-Frisk said UK laws passed in 1999 breach these rules by prohibiting the use of commercial GSM gateways.

Carss-Frisk said: “This is a story about a number of thriving businesses that were utterly destroyed by a decision which was in breach of EU law. The government, astonishingly, did not consider EU law when it decided to ban GSM gateways.

“The 1999 regulations were designed for cordless phones, and short-range devices, but

ended up applying to gateways. There is no evidence to suggest any thought was given to why this happened at all.

“We believe the intention was never to include COMUGS, and that any prohibition was made accidentally.” Continued on page 2

Issue 543, July 15, 2013 The newspaper for the mobile communications industry £3.45

B2B dealer builds £250k ‘Atlas’ CRM designed for mobile reseller channel• Most ‘affordable’, ‘efficient’ customer and staff management tool, Sunrise Associates says • Company ‘on verge of’ agreeing deals with two airtime distributors to push Atlas, it claims

Dealers’ livelihoods ‘destroyed’ by ‘illegal’ 1999 GSM gateways ban

Sunrise MD James Evans –'designed by a dealer for dealers'

Case being heard at High Court

EXCLUSIVEBy Michael Garwood

02 NewsVodafone partner eyes 200,000 connections

14 NewsBlackBerry calls for calm after Q1 financial slump

*No association with Hull-based VIP Communications Group**Not Surrey-based Edge Telecom (UK) Ltd

Mobile Accessories

01923 852916

MN 2013-0715 News 1.indd 1 16/07/2013 10:30

By Paul Withers

B2B dealer OneCom expects to add around 50,000 new Vodafone connections to its base in the next 12 months – taking its total number of connections past the 200,000 mark.

OneCom was formed late last month following the decision to merge Vodafone platinum partner Premier Telecom and business telecoms provider Business Phones Direct (BPD).

The companies, which have a combined annual turnover of more than £40 million, are both owned by Darren Ridge, who was MD of Premier Telecom and is now the CEO.

BPD MD Aaron Brown has been made OneCom COO.

Ridge told Mobile News the firm has set itself the target of boosting its base by around 25 per cent by June 2014, through a mixture of acquisition and organic growth.

Jobs boostRidge also confirmed the merger has resulted in the creation of 70 new jobs which, when filled, will take staff numbers to 300. The new employees will be focused on customer services and telesales, he said.

Jobs will be available at OneCom’s eight offices across the UK. These are its head office, which remains in Fareham in Hampshire, as well as its offices in Leeds, Hereford, London, Southampton, Plymouth, Bridgnorth in Shropshire and Chandlers Ford in Hampshire. The company is also looking at opening a ninth office in Manchester.

Ridge said: “Premier Telecom and Business Phones Direct offer so much more than just telecoms services. There’s a lot of synergies between the two businesses so to consolidate the resource makes a lot of sense. It gives us a tremendous platform for future growth.”

AcquisitionsHe added: “The next milestone is to achieve 200,000 connections within the next 12 months. There is certainly an appetite for acquisition from the network, which is good. We have a proven track record in acquisitions ourselves, and we also we have good ARP and low, single-digit churn.”

Premier Telecom was Vodafone’s largest platinum partner with a base of

more than 150,000 mobile connections and is billing more than £15 million a year.

High-profile customers include Transport for London, the NHS and B&Q, and it has won the operator’s ‘Platinum Partner of the Year’ award for the past two years.

It has also featured twice in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 in that time, which ranks Britain’s technology companies with the fastest growing sales.

02 NEWS

OneCom confident of adding 50,000 new Vodafone connections in next 12 months

NewsP4U 4GEE connections....04Unicom electricity move...06Micro-P VoIP service........08£10m O2 ad campaign......12BlackBerry profits dive.....14EE ‘double-speed’ 4G.......16New Avenir battery deal...181.5bn Asian connections...20€1bn Vodafone spend......22

ColumnsSpeakers’ Corner ...........24Cutting Room .................26Backslap ........................44

RegularsUnified Comms ...............08International ...................20Irish ................................22Mystery Shopper .............32Mystery Caller .................36Window Shopping ...........40Data Centre ....................42

Features4GEE speed test .............30

“We are the biggest, fastest and, undoubtedly, the best mobile network”EE CEO Olaf Swantee See page 16

Subscriptions 01737 457158 Rates at www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk. Published by Clark White Publications Ltd. Registration 2653326. Printed by Precision Colour Printing, Telford. © CWP Ltd. Material may not be reproduced without permission. Mobile News (ISSN-0964-9468) is available on Subscription: £79.50 a year (UK), £125 (Europe), £250 (rest of world). Circulation 6,100 average (ABC audited for the 12 months to December 2011)

Issue 543, July 15, 2013

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EE head of trading Alan Howard has quit the business after 11 years with the firm.

Howard completed his notice period this month, having resigned in April after accepting a role as head of business development at high street optician chain Specsavers.

Howard joined EE, then Orange, in 2002 as a retail store manager before being

promoted to various other roles within the business.

These included regional manager, head of store format, head of new business and head of stores before taking up his last role eight months ago.

He has been replaced by former Sony Mobile head of global customer unit Matthew Price, whose first day in the new position was July 15.

Price, who held his previous role for 18 months, has worked in telecoms and technology for more than a decade, holding various roles at Sony, Sony Ericsson and Telefónica.

These positions included Sony Electronics product manager, Telefónica trading marketing manager, Sony Ericsson senior account manager and Sony Mobile head of sales.

EE retail director Deirdre Burns told Mobile News: “I have worked with Alan for the past six months and he’s been a real asset to the company. It’s just time for him to move on, as many people do in their careers.

“Alan had a very successful career with us and he moves on with our very best wishes. Matthew Price joins with a wealth of experience.”

• Firm aims to boost base by 25pc • Adds would take base past 200,000

EE head of trading Alan Howard quits after 11 years

14 30

BlackBerry Having shown signs of recovery, Blackberry’s recent financial results showed there is still much work to do – the firm posted losses of more than $84 million. President and CEO Thorsten Heins explains why he’s not ready to hit the panic button yet.

4G speed testEE has been peppering the market with impressive claims about the speeds available on its ‘superfast’ 4G network. Rather than take its word for it, Mobile News and sister publication What Mobile took to the streets of London to see just how good it really is.

GSM gateways reduce the cost of calls to mobiles from fixed lines

OneCom CEO Darren Ridge (right) alongside COO Aaron Brown

Continued from page 1

Evidence Extracts from emails sent by the Radiocommunications Agency (RA, now Ofcom) to operators in 2002, stating it did not believe GSM gateways caused harmful interference, were also read out in court.

These included an email sent by the RA on June 27 asking network operators whether they felt it would be in the public interest to prosecute GSM gateway operators who continued the trade,

“given there seems to be no interference caused”.

Later that year, the RA began a consultation into whether GSM gateways should be legalised, because they caused “little or no interference”.

Carss-Frisk told the court the RA was dissuaded from

legalising GSM gateways by the operators, who were concerned about the financial implications it would have on their business.

She showed the judge a presentation by Vodafone outlining the financial impact of legalising GSM gateways, but

court restrictions prohibit its contents from being reported.

She said: “GSM gateways can bring advantages for consumers as it means there is increased competition, so the RA wanted to liberalise them. But curiously, there is no analysis of the UK’s EU obligations.

“We do not know what the UK government’s thinking was. We asked for an explanation from the government on how they implemented EU laws on the use of radiocommunications equipment and the short answer is, there is nothing.”

‘Livelihoods destroyed by illegal GSM gateways ban’

4G4G4G4

www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk@mobilenewsmag MobileNewsMagazine

Fixed phones GSM Gateway Calls to different mobile networks

PBX

MN 2013-0715 News p2.indd 1 10/07/2013 15:50

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Airtime distributor Avenir Telecom has expanded its online partner portal to include customer retention and churn management tools.

The customer retention service will provide partners with current data for their O2 customers, such as contract end dates and whether they are eligible to be re-signed.

The churn management tool enables Avenir’s resellers to view their monthly and quarterly performance.

The portal, which was relaunched earlier this year, is updated daily and also enables dealers to access information on monthly revenue share,

as well as order trial devices.Avenir managing director

Andy Tow said: “Our online partner portal is simply the best of its kind and we are continually developing and improving it to ensure that our partners have up-to-date information regarding all aspects of their business.

“We understand that churn minimisation and retention management are of critical importance to our partners, and therefore we are currently working on being able to provide them with the same information for their EE, Orange and T-Mobile customers as well as O2.”

By Samantha Tomaszczyk

Twenty-five per cent of all connections put through Phones 4U are on EE’s 4G network.

This is according to Phones 4U director of trading Matt Child, who was speaking to Mobile News during the Aegis accessories launch event at Phones 4U’s flagship store in Oxford Street earlier this month (see Backslap, back page).

Child said the retailer has experienced “massive” growth in 4G take-up since May as a result of EE’s extensive marketing campaigns and the extension of its 4G service to 12 new UK cities.

He refused, however, to provide figures on contract numbers.

Child said: “The big thing for us at the moment is 4G. We are now connecting in excess of 25 per cent of our business on 4G and that’s growing rapidly.

“We have had massive growth in our 4G take-up. EE launched it really well.

“We saw a real upturn in May. Customer awareness from the huge campaigns by EE and also the wider availability has undoubtedly aided its growth.”

Accessories boostChild also revealed Phones 4U has experienced a 25 per cent year-on-year rise in accessories sales following a restructure.

Phones 4U appointed a new sales team in 2012 to place

greater emphasis on accessories sales, resulting in products such as smartphones and tablet cases getting more store shelf space.

Retail staff have also been given additional training on the importance of protecting

increasingly expensive devices. A similar strategy is being put

in place to boost sales of SIM-only deals.

Child said: “We are in a period of significant growth, and we do not see that stopping. Our accessories sales are up about 25 per cent year on year – across stand-alone and attached sales.

“We index in the higher end tariff in terms of sales, so the very nature of that is you are going to sell more accessories as the attachment rate is higher.

“But our stand-alone sales have also grown pretty significantly, which indicates we have got people coming into the store to buy accessories – so they are holding their own as a category.”

04 NEWS

Phones 4U: 4GEE accounts for more than 25pc of connections we make

ANOVO in Telefónica buy-back dealANOVO has been selected as Telefónica’s preferred partner for device buy-back and refurbishments for its operations across South America.

The repairs, recycling and after-sales specialist will provide services for Telefónica, which has more than 212 million customers in Latin America, in Peru, Chile and Columbia. ANOVO has also been chosen as one of two partners for services in Brazil by the operator.

The company has 20 facilities across the globe, including four offices in the UK, in Enfield, Norwich, Coventry and Thetford.

ANOVO CEO François Lacombe said: “Regeneration activity is just starting in Latin America and is beginning to be part of

the consumer culture. With the rise in sales of smartphones and growing economies, it is the belief of Telefónica and ANOVO that it is the right time to enter the regeneration market in Latin America. ANOVO is very proud to have been selected by Telefónica

for such a strategic initiative, as it is a clear recognition of our competencies in operator buy-back programmes.”

Telefónica VP of supply chain and customer services in Latin America Gilles Giacosa said: “Buy-back programmes are an example of innovative and demonstrated initiatives that will help us to bring more value to our customers in the Latin American region, contributing at the same time to build a more sustainable business model.

“ANOVO has demonstrated to be a robust and qualified partner of Telefónica. And its expertise, acquired in other devices buy-back markets, will contribute to maintain Telefónica’s leading position in the region.”

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Child – ‘massive’ 4G take-up

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20:20 Mobile has partnered with UK insurer Allianz to provide replacement handsets for its mobile insurance operations.

Allianz Mobile provides claims administration services for schemes including mobile phone insurance for First Direct, with 20:20 providing replacement devices from all major manufacturers.

The hardware distributor has developed a bespoke web-based portal, which it said allows Allianz administrators to quickly identify replacement devices and place orders for a suitable replacement product.

It then sources the device and provides a fulfilment service direct to the claimant’s home or business address the next working day.


MN 2013-0715 News p4.indd 4 10/07/2013 15:48

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Samsung executive vice president David Eun has revealed he was one of the passengers on the Asiana Boeing 777 which crash-landed at San Francisco airport on July 6, killing two passengers.

Former Google employee Eun, who is based in New York, tweeted dramatic pictures of the tail-less, flaming aircraft moments after escaping.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg later revealed she and her family

had been booked on the same flight but had changed their travel plans at the last minute.

B2B dealer PMGC Technology has launched an apprenticeship programme to attract school-leavers to the mobile industry.

The Vodafone platinum partner is using its office in Sunderland as a test bed for an anticipated company-wide roll-out of the 12-month scheme.

PMGC hopes to appoint 10 new apprentices each year and offer permanent positions to those who complete the programme.

Seventeen-year-old Nicole Smith is the first apprentice to join the scheme. She was selected from a group of seven candidates.

Smith will work with a mentor to improve her knowledge of telecoms and sales and will get to work across different departments and offices.

PMGC’s head office is located in London, with other premises in Solihull, Altrincham and Edinburgh.

The company’s office in Sunderland has been working with training providers The Improvement Team and Business Impact to develop

an induction and training programme, including providing information on PMGC and how it works with Vodafone.

PMGC Technology Group CEO Jason Yeomans said: “We have launched this apprenticeship scheme in order not only to attract the best talent as they start out on their career path, but to help them shape and understand the opportunities available to them, helping them to grow and realise potential and skills they may not yet be aware they have and which are vital to be successful.”

By James Barnes

B2B telecom provider Unicom has confirmed it is to join the business electricity supply market through a co-branded agreement with leading UK energy company SSE.

Unicom development manager Mark Draper said the move was the result of “years of research and development” on the part of his company.

The new division of the business will also create around 40 new jobs, boosting employee numbers to almost 50 in total.

The company has appointed John Shamin as its new head of utility to build the team.

Unicom specialised in selling gas and electricity when it was founded in 1998 but moved out of the utility broker business in 2004 to focus on telecommunications, building

a fixed-line base of more than 100,000 connections.

The company first entered the mobile sector in 2010 with an MVNO through Orange MVNA Transatel.

Draper said: “Unlike the telecoms market, and more recently the mobile market, the electricity industry isn’t readily set up for a co-branded agreement – they have historically preferred to deal either directly with customers or via appointed brokers. In working with Unicom, SSE has demonstrated a forward-thinking approach in order to open up a new method of customer acquisition.”

SSE director of business sales and service Terry Tippell added: “The partnering arrangement with Unicom was indeed a detour from our usual retention and acquisition channels and

not without its own particular challenges. Having said that, the hard work shared with Unicom meant that we were able to produce a solution that fits both the requirements of SSE and Unicom.”

06 NEWS

Unicom enters B2B energy sector with new SSE deal

New Bluechipworld headphones to go on sale in UK through Selfridges

Comparison site ‘has saved visitors more than £20 million in four years’

Bluetooth product manufacturer Bluechipworld has signed up Selfridges to sell its new premium iT7x2 headphones.

The Hednesford-based firm will officially launch the product at the department store’s Birmingham branch on August 8 in an event featuring a number of sports stars which will be covered by national media including the BBC and Sky Sports.

The products will also be available in the Tech Zone areas of Selfridges’ London and Manchester stores.

The headphones will be available in black, white, blue, pink and orange, priced at £169.99.

Bluechipworld managing director Simon Hassell said:

“The growth continues and we’re working to plan. The financial year 2012/2013 was all about investment and 2013/2014 is

about growing our brand and increasing our market share.”

Bluechipworld has also launched a new website, www.it7audio.co.uk to showcase the iT7 range, with a detailed description and images of each product and where to buy them.

The site also includes pictures of celebrities such as X Factor winner James Arthur, England and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart and London 2012 400m silver medallist Christine Ohuruogu wearing them.

In addition, the company has struck a deal that will see the England cricket squad wear the iT7x2 and iT7x headphones during the Ashes test match series against Australia this summer.

Recycling comparison website CompareMyMobile has saved its customers more than £20 million since the service launched in 2009, it claims.

The website enables customers looking to recycle their mobile phone to compare prices with more than 40 recycling firms to obtain the best price.

The firm claims prices can differ by up to 20 per cent between companies.

CompareMyMobile also revealed sales through its website have reached more than £45 million.

It added that the average recycle value of a handset has quadrupled since its launch, from £20 to £108.

Apple has held the largest market share in terms of recycled devices, currently accounting for 35 per cent of the total market.

Ashley Turner, CompareMy-

Mobile co-founder, said: “Since 2009, CompareMyMobile.com has earned UK consumers more than £45 million through its phone recycling partners. Comparison websites such as ours reduce the confusion consumers have about getting the best deal online.

“This ‘£20 million extra earned’ milestone demonstrates the vast difference in payouts a consumer can expect to get by using different vendors.”

Draper – SSE ‘forward-thinking’

Ohuruogu models headphones

One of Eun’s tweeted pictures

Fixed-line reseller Supply Communications has extended its portfolio to offer mobile phones and business connections for the first time.

The Hampshire-based company, which has provided fixed-line and unified communications services such as call recording since 2008, has partnered with distributors Micro-P, 20:20 Mobile, Ingram Micro Mobility and Daisy and will be offering all UK networks and devices.

Supply Communications mobile manager Sam McCarthy told Mobile News the firm

expects to process 100 new connections per month until the end of the year, growing to 250 new connections per month by the end of 2014.

It has already begun marketing the service to its existing fixed-line customer base, McCarthy said, but is looking to create a mobile-only division.

He said: “Growing our mobile base is a fundamental future target for the business and this will include recruitment in customers services, a ‘mobile upgrade and new business department’ and telemarketer to target new mobile only business.”

Fixed dealer Supply in mobile services move

Samsung exec survives San Francisco air crash

June 26€9.85

July 09€10.25

3.55% €0.35

June 26$51.08

July 09$50.88

-0.39% $0.20

June 26$18.51

June 26€7.41

July 09$19.68

July 09€7.32

6.32% $1.17

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June 26£1.81

July 09£1.93

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July 09€8.93

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June 26€0.33

July 09€0.34

June 26£2.42

July 09£2.50

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Vodafone, Ingram Micro Mobility and Deutsche Telekom are the main beneficiaries of this fortnight’s increased market confidence

PMGC launches mobile apprenticeship scheme

Yeomans – aim to grow skills


MN 2013-0715 News p6.indd 4 10/07/2013 15:04

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BT has signed a five-year deal with ITV to provide the broadcaster with access to a digital network.

Under the deal BT will connect ITV’s 13 major broadcasting sites to its data centres, enabling it to transfer large amounts of data and uncompressed HD video between sites, at speeds of up to 10Gbps.

It will also carry compressed media (where the file’s contents are arranged more concisely or efficiently) and data across 32 smaller ITV sites and news bureaux.

The ‘X-Net’ network, which BT designed for broadcasting and high-quality LAN (local area network) connectivity, is expected to go live in spring 2014.

BT wholesale global sales and marketing director Mark Wilson-Dunn said: “We’re delivering an extremely innovative network infrastructure for ITV which combines the best of BT Media and Broadcast’s global managed services with a new wavelength-based core network.

“This will give ITV incredible flexibility and efficiency, as well as providing an unrivalled level

of service to help them continue entertaining people, wherever they might be and whatever device they are using.”

Cloud services provider Outsourcery has signed a deal with computer manufacturer HP to offer unified communications solutions via its partners.

UK-based Outsourcery is currently selecting HP partners who will act as resellers of its UC solutions to SMBs.

Outsourcery’s cloud delivery model, which uses HP’s cloud infrastructure, is targeted at organisations with 200 to 1,000 employees and is one of the products resellers will be tasked with selling.

The ‘Unified Communication & Collaboration’ (UC&C) package will also include VoIP and video, web and audio conferencing and messaging services.

HP UK and Ireland director of cloud computing Michael Clifford said: “UC&C enables businesses to work in smarter, more effective ways, but SMBs may not have the expertise or budget to implement it. Leveraging Outsourcery’s

cloud hosting platform and the implementation expertise of specialised channel partners enables SMBs to cost-effectively deploy unified communications of a pay-per-use basis.”

Outsourcery co-CEO Piers Linney said: “Working with HP and channel partners that are embracing the opportunity, this new initiative will give SMBs the same access to UC and collaboration as larger enterprises. More companies are looking to transform the way that IT serves their business. Through our cloud solutions, we can provide their IT delivered as a service, with fast deployment and minimal need for capital investment.”

Communications provider Kcom has launched a research project with the Customer Contact Association (CCA) to examine how modern technology will influence the way businesses interact with their customers.

The project will look at how the next generation of technology services, such as 4G mobile internet, might change customer habits and preferences and how and why customers choose to make contact with companies.

The research will focus on the banking, retail, insurance and utilities industries and companies including Phones 4U have already taken part in workshops to identify the crucial factors in delivering customers service in their industry.

CCA chief executive Anne

Marie Forsyth said: “Each year our ‘Future of Customer Service’ research sheds fresh light on important developments which will have a big impact on customer service delivery. CCA is developing clear road maps which will enable organisations of every kind to develop smart strategic responses. Our work with Kcom will make a very valuable contribution.”

Kcom director of strategic propositions Sally Fuller said: “Research programmes like this are key in helping businesses make the right decisions when it comes to shaping their customer service strategies. I’m confident that this research will deliver compelling data which can be used to shape their critical decisions.”

Avaya UK and Ireland managing director Andrew Shepperd has left the unified communications provider after eight months in the role.

Speaking after his appointment in August, Shepperd said he would prioritise building Avaya’s video offering and strengthening the company’s partnerships.

Avaya said the role will be

temporarily filled by the firm’s vice president of EMEA, Mario DiMascio, while it searches for a replacement.

It said: “Andrew Shepperd has played a key role in leading, driving and progressing positive changes within the UK and Ireland sales organisation.

“We wish him well in his future career.”


Micro-P is launching a new hosted VoIP solution on its online partner platform, Conect, which is designed to help resellers move into both voice and hosted services.

Resellers from the IT, comms and mobile arenas with little or no experience can take advantage of the solution from this month and use it as either a wholesale or white label with

no administration charges.Micro-P head of business

development Rob Hendry said: “This new hosted VoIP service will allow resellers who may be concerned about stepping into either voice or hosted solutions to go and sell this service with confidence. It represents huge upfront commission payments, much like traditional voice system models, with recurring revenue thereafter. Our strategy is to keep the VoIP

and connectivity as simple as possible, which we’re very excited about.”

In March, the distributor revealed it was launching its £150,000 online partner

platform, Conect, targeting 2,000 connections per month by the end of the year. Conect is part of Micro-P’s ‘converged service strategy’ and is being aimed at its

9,000 plus IT resellers and 600 plus mobile resellers.

Hendry added: “Voice and data can be very complicated for those who haven’t sold it before. Conect makes it very easy for a reseller with no experience. This is a true end-to-end service for resellers. We can support them technically, with hardware, fixed-line connectivity and broadband for voice and data, and in deployment and training.”

• New service is designed to help resellers to move into voice and hosted services

Micro-P unveils new hosted VoIP service for resellers

Micro-P’s online partner platform, Conect, launched in March

Wilson-Dunn – innovative

Linney – UC access for SMBs

UNIFIED COMMS FORTNIGHTLY REPORT

Kcom research project into customer services

Avaya’s UK MD leaves firm after eight months

BT wins network contract with ITV

Outsourcery in UC deal with HP

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MN 2013-0715 Unified Comms.indd 8 10/07/2013 15:06

Technology company Ericsson has bought UK-based media services provider Red Bee Media, in order to strengthen its broadcast division.

The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, would see Ericsson’s UK business grow by 1,240 employees to around 4,000, with more than a third working in the media services division.

This includes services designed to help broadcasters and content owners cope with the convergence of video and mobile devices.

Red Bee Media also provides services including digital video publishing, and more than 100,000 hours of subtitling per

year for leading broadcasters.It is the largest editorial

metadata, or information about data, provider in Europe.

Ericsson said the acquisition would mean the UK is its “global media hub”.

Executive vice president and head of business unit global services Magnus Mandersson said: “Ericsson is making a step change to our business, cementing our commitment to TV and broadcast services and continuing a journey we started in 2007.

“We can create value for broadcasters by making digital content more accessible, enabling monetisation of TV content more

efficiently. Video traffic shows very strong uptake in the mobile networks and Ericsson can address the need of both broadcasters and telecom operators through our technology expertise and services capabilities.”

Mobile operators are struggling to make money from Wi-Fi offerings, but view the service as crucial to customer satisfaction and retention, according to research by Analysis Mason.

The company’s principal analyst Chris Nicoll said Wi-Fi is frequently viewed by operators as competing with mobile services, but it is becoming increasingly important to them as a way to manage mobile internet usage.

But Analysis Mason’s survey of mobile operators revealed Wi-Fi does not generate significant revenues for operators. Those who have already deployed the technology indicated it is

revenue-neutral, Nicoll said. He added current monetisation options are limited to direct user charging, location-based services and retail partnering.

However, Nicoll said Wi-Fi will become more profitable as operators may start to sell data on Wi-Fi users’ behaviour and engage in direct marketing activities such as coupons and tie-ins to retailer loyalty programmes.

Nicoll said: “Operators and retailers will need to create new business systems in order to capitalise on the business opportunities offered by our insights. Operators will be challenged to invest in systems to

enable Wi-Fi analytics data to be combined with a variety of other sources, including the MNO’s cellular network data and the retailers’ data, in order to generate useful marketing insights.”

Half of mobile operators globally expect to be controlling access to their networks via software by 2015, according to a report by analysis firm Informa.

The report, published earlier this month, found momentum among operators for mobile software-defined-network (SDN) technology is “building rapidly”.

SDN allows operators to de-couple control of their networks from hardware, and use software instead. It means engineers can respond more quickly to changes in business requirements, as they can adjust network access remotely.

Informa found SDN is likely to be deployed to make networks more scalable and flexible, necessary due to increasing demand for data-intensive applications such as mobile video.

In the longer term, operators will use it to develop agile networks, meaning applications can be brought to market quicker and more cheaply, the firm found.

Informa Telecoms & Media principal analyst Dimitris Mavrakis said: “Cost savings and network flexibility are arguably the first benefits to be considered, but providing a platform for new service-revenue opportunities and network exposure can help operators combat competition both within and outside the mobile value chain.

“Our survey findings suggest that all eyes are on the first deployments of SDN in the mobile network, which are expected during 2013 and 2014, which will provide valuable early lessons and experiences for the whole market.”

Gaming technology manufac-turer Sapphire has appointed Micro-P to distribute its graphics cards in the UK.

Micro-P will offer Sapphire products such as its ‘AMD FirePro’ range, which includes graphics cards that take data from the processor and convert it into a screen image. The range appeared on Micro-P’s website on July 3.

Micro-P PC component prod-uct manager Zoe Curtis said: “Micro-P is excited to announce the introduction of Sapphire to our vendor portfolio. Sapphire’s channel strategy complements Micro-P’s current portfolio and will enable us to deliver an even stronger proposition to help support and service our valued reseller partners.”


Ofcom has proposed slashing the wholesale cost of switching broadband suppliers by 80 per cent, in a bid to boost competition in the sector.

The UK telecoms regulator has also suggested reducing the minimum length of wholesale contracts between BT – which rents its network out to competing providers – and the switched customer’s new supplier from one year to one month, to

allow telecoms providers to offer shorter-term contracts.

It said the proposals are designed to promote competition in the superfast broadband market at the wholesale level, and to ensure the performance of Openreach – the division of BT which installs and maintains connections to its network – is maintained at acceptable levels.

According to Ofcom, some operators who rent BT’s network have expressed concern about the time it takes Openreach to install

new lines and repair faults, which is why the regulator has proposed setting specific performance standards for the division.

Ofcom is also consulting on whether it should strengthen reporting requirements on Openreach to make the process more transparent.

On the question of switching broadband supplier, Ofcom has proposed reducing the fee a company has to pay to Openreach for a new connection from £50 to between £10 and £15.

However, Ofcom said it doesn’t want to set wholesale price controls on local network access, because BT’s fees in this area are already constrained by competition from Virgin Media (which also offers superfast connectivity) and it does not want to discourage investment in fibre broadband.

The proposals are set out in a consultation published as part of a wider review into the fixed-line market, due to conclude in spring 2014.

Ofcom calls for 80pc cut in cost of switching broadband supplier

‘Promoting competition’

Nicoll – business opportunities

Mandersson – step change

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‘Half of operators will be using SDN by 2015’

Micro-P inks Sapphire graphics cards deal

Ericsson buys up Red Bee Media

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BT has signed a deal with Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire county councils to roll out its fibre broadband connectivity.

Over the next three years, the service, which offers speeds of up to 80Mbps, will be made available to more than 52,500 homes and businesses in the area.

The network will cover around 90 per cent of the counties’ populations and will build on BT’s existing roll-out, which has to date made the service available to 153,000 homes and businesses in Buckinghamshire and

400,000 homes and businesses in Hertfordshire.

Fibre broadband will be rolled out in phases, with the first areas expected to be upgraded in mid-2014.

The Connected Counties project, which is run jointly by the two councils, also aims to ensure everyone in the two counties has access to minimum broadband speeds of 2Mbps.

Of the total £18 million cost of the roll-out, BT will contribute £8.6 million to the project, while Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire county councils will contribute £1.61 million and £3.7 million respectively.

A further £4.15 million is to be made available from the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) funds.

BT managing director for next-generation access, Bill Murphy, said: “This is fantastic news and this project will move Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire well and truly into the broadband fast lane.

“We’re already seeing the positive impact that faster, fibre broadband is having and now, thanks to this partnership, this investment will further boost the position of the two countries as being among the leading creators of new business.”

UNIFIED COMMS FORTNIGHTLY REPORT

• £18m network to provide 52,500 homes and businesses with speeds of up to 80Mbps

BT agrees fibre roll-out deal for Herts and Bucks

Murphy – project will move counties into broadband fast lane

UC provider ShoreTel has signed a deal with the Williams Formula One team to provide business phone systems, applications and conferencing software.

The contract covers ShoreTel’s IP-PBX phone system, which enables users to call over the internet from a range of devices including desk phones, smartphones and tablets.

The company will also provide Williams with its Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) handsets, which give users access to fixed networks via the phone so they can use it to manage incoming calls or monitor shared extensions.

Williams will also use ShoreTel’s Enterprise Contact Center software to manage incoming calls and monitor their performance.

As part of the agreement ShoreTel also provided the Formula One team with its technical equipment for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, held last month (June 28-30).

ShoreTel EMEA vice president and managing director Adrian Hipkiss said: “This new partnership allows us to demonstrate our award-winning telephony solutions with one of the world’s leading engineering companies, whose day-to-day operations, both at the factory and at 19 Formula

One races around the world, rely on brilliantly simple unified communications.”

Data services provider Six Degrees Group has partnered with bus company Arriva to build a website offering customers ticket purchasing facilities, real-time service information and route details.

The website, designed by digital marketing specialist Freestyle Interactive, works across iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices.

It is hosted on a cloud platform tailored to meet Arriva’s needs, in particular the ability to cope with a rapid increase in visitor numbers. The bus company currently provides services for 770 million passengers every year.

Six Degrees said the Arriva website uses dual-site technology – which means it is backed up on a second cloud platform hosted at a different data centre – to reduce the

risk of downtime. Dual-site technology also allows for short-term bursts and long-term expansion of traffic, the company said.

Six Degrees Group strategy and marketing director Campbell Williams said: “When designing any website function it is important to develop a suitable hosting platform that takes into account the current and anticipated requirements of the website concerned.

“With 770 million passengers a year, it’s likely that the traffic to Arriva’s website is going to increase significantly so this solution needed to have the potential to scale up.

“Working with the expert web developers at Freestyle Interactive, it was possible to build a solution that is not only designed with future growth in mind, but also boasts in-built resilience, giving Arriva bus piece of mind that its website can deliver great customer service.”

Technology company Oracle has unveiled a network ‘gatekeeping’ service which is designed to reduce the time it takes operators to integrate third-party applications into their offerings.

‘Oracle Communications Services Gatekeeper’ is an open, standards-based programming interface which is designed to make it easier for internal and third-party application providers to integrate with networks.

It applies to carrier billing as well as messaging applications. It also provides operators with more control over network usage, by increasing visibility through data analysis, Oracle said.

Oracle senior vice president and general manager Bhaskar Gorti said: “In a competitive communications marketplace it is vital that CSPs [communications service providers] can rapidly deploy new and exciting services that meet customer and partner expectations.

“The latest release of Oracle Communications Services Gatekeeper provides CSPs with industry-standard technology combined with sophisticated management tools and analytics to securely open up networks to third-party services and applications while also helping to monetise those services and increase customer satisfaction.”

Machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions provider Wireless Logic has signed a deal with technology company Acal BFi which will see the two firms collaborate on mobile network services.

Under the deal UK-based Wireless Logic will provide Acal BFi with connectivity from major international mobile network operators.

Wireless Logic counts Vodafone, O2, EE, Orange and T-Mobile among its list of airtime partners.

In return Acal BFi will work with Wireless Logic on the creation and provision of M2M services, which allow users to control cars and household equipment by means of internet-connected devices such as smartphones.

The deal will also see Acal BFi’s offering expand

to include Wireless Logic’s management platform ‘SIMpro’, which allows them to monitor all active SIMs and their activity.

Wireless Logic managing director Ulrich Kaindl said: “An M2M solution that works reliably depends on the SIM card used and the corresponding services.

“If the solution doesn’t work properly then this reflects predominantly on the solution provider.

“Acal BFi has recognised this and taken the logical step of providing complete connectivity in order to offer its customers added value.”

ShoreTel signs UC products and services deal with Williams F1

Six Degrees Group partners with bus company Arriva on new site

Oracle launches network ‘gatekeeping’ service

Wireless Logic seals network services deal

Hipkiss – brilliantly simple UC

Williams – potential to scale up

10 NEWS www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk@mobilenewsmag MobileNewsMagazine


The BlackBerry Q5, the third handset to run the BB10 operat-ing system, has gone on sale in the UK.

It is currently free from £21 a month from Carphone Ware-house, Phones 4U and Vodafone, and costs an additional £5 a month from EE.

The Q5 follows the Z10 and Q10 smartphones in running BlackBerry’s new platform, which launched in January.

Similar in appearance to the Q10, it has a 3.1-inch touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard. It will also feature

BlackBerry Time Shift, which lets users take a range of photos and choose the best one, and BlackBerry Story Maker to enable users to create a story and join together multi-media into a film.

It also includes BlackBerry Messen-ger, which since the launch of the new platform, lets users have video conversations and share screens.

BlackBerry UK and Ireland

senior channel direc-tor of accounts Jona-than Young said: “The BlackBerry Q5 is a powerful, afford-able smartphone which delivers on our commitment to bring BlackBerry 10 to different segments of the market. We believe that the BlackBerry Q5’s combination of

rich features and func-tionalities at an affordable price point will appeal to exist-ing and new customers alike.”

Frequency Telecom has been ranked 41st in The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 list. It was the only mobile company to be included.

The league table, which was published on July 7, ranks Britain’s mid-market private companies with the fastest growing international sales, measured over their latest two years of accounts.

In its year end to March 2012, Frequency reported turnover of £27.2 million, of which £17.8

million was achieved overseas. This represents an increase of 88.5 per cent in its interna-tional sales, which Frequency said was due to its investment and expansion into new Euro-pean markets.

The company, which has its head office in Chessington, distributes to retailers in 50 countries, predominantly in the UK, Scandinavia, Russia and Germany. It employs more than 60 staff across its Euro-pean operations.

Frequency Telecom MD Gareth Limpenny said: “To be included in the Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 is testament to our proven business model, fastidious approach to detail and ability to identify changing trends, which enables us to develop effective niches within each of the product sectors we trade in. This can only be achieved with good people and I am extremely proud of the team we have built here.”

By Paul Withers

O2 has launched an advertising campaign worth a reported £10 million ahead of its 4G launch this summer as part of a refreshed brand strategy.

‘Be more dog’ is aimed at promoting the operator in a more playful, enthusiastic and optimistic attitude, O2 says, highlighting the possibilities of technology and encouraging customers “to live more, do more and be more with O2”.

The major above-the-line campaign launched with an online preview on July 4, before premiering on TV and in cinemas from July 6.

O2 said the ad shows the transformation of a “particularly

nonchalant and aloof cat who discovers his dog-like side”.

From chasing sticks, digging holes, swimming and chasing cars, the cat embraces his dog-like side to get the most out of life, the company explained.

Social media The campaign is supported by O2’s biggest social media campaign to date, seeing a complete two-week takeover of its channels. On YouTube, O2 will be identifying trending videos

featuring cat-like behaviour with ‘Dog Bombs’ – short, shareable videos featuring cats and dogs.

The bespoke BeMoreDog.com website has also been created, aimed at introducing technology in a “playful” way. It features a specially designed game using dual-screen technology, enabling visitors to use their mobile as a control to throw a frisbee from their phone to the cat on the screen. Visitors can also create their own ‘Dog Bomb’, which they can post to friends.

‘Be more dog’ will also run outdoors from July 15-18 and across O2 shops. The store fronts will feature posters and video content, which O2 said “dramatises the benefits of moving from a disenchanted

cat-like state, to an energised, enthusiastic dog attitude”. O2 Gurus will also be helping customers in-store to get the most out of their handsets.

O2 marketing and consumer director Gary Booker said: “We want to inspire people to get the most out of their technology. ‘Be more dog’ is about encouraging Britain to embrace the new, have a go with the unknown and dabble in innovation.

“We’ve just launched O2 Refresh, which lets our customers get their hands on the latest technology, whenever it’s released. We’re also gearing up for our 4G launch later this summer, so it’s the perfect time to get the nation trying more and being a little bit more dog.”

Huawei has signed a seven-figure deal with Glasgow Rangers Football Club to provide its Ibrox stadium with a Wi-Fi network.

Beginning next month on a stand-by-stand basis, the network will give the 50,000 plus fans, as well as those in the approaches, concourse, restaurants and corporate areas, full access to content rich media as well as access to club competitions, merchandising, team talk discussions and forthcoming events.

The technology vendor said stadium Wi-Fi has been under discussion at the Scottish club for a number of years, with fans frustrated by 3G mobile network download speeds.

Huawei UK CEO Victor Zhang said: “Huawei is at the forefront of innovation in

communications technology and we are very proud to have been chosen to deliver a new channel of communication between Rangers and its supporters. The high data capacity that Wi-Fi delivers will allow Rangers fans to use social networks to share their experiences, as well as allowing the club to enhance its ‘digital dialogue’ with its supporters.”

Rangers chief executive Craig Mather added: “Huawei has shown an enormous appetite for, and commitment to, providing an absolutely best-in-class service. More and more people are using smart devices as a primary means of communication and we look forward to revolutionising the way in which Rangers fans can engage with the club before, during and after the match.”

EE and Vodafone collided head-on before the Formula One British Grand Prix, after both McLaren cars displayed 4G branding.

Mobile News was contacted by Vodafone, which is the team sponsor of McLaren, on the eve of the Silverstone race on June 30 claiming EE had asked for both drivers, including British racer Jenson Button, to be “garaged”. This was due to the words ‘Ultrafast 4G’ being written down the sides of each vehicle.

EE, which is currently the only UK operator to offer a 4G/LTE service, told Mobile News

it “absolutely” did not request the cars to be pulled from the race, but suggested the operator should not be promoting a service it is yet to launch and should remove the wording.

Vodafone, which has been the team sponsor of McLaren since 2007 as part of a £50 million per season deal, refused, claiming it was using the car to build further awareness of its forthcoming 4G services – expected to launch this month.

A Vodafone statement read: “This is sponsorship, not advertising. The clue is in the team’s name: Vodafone McLaren

Mercedes. We’re using the car to build further awareness of our forthcoming ultrafast 4G service. It’s a ‘static promotion’, albeit on a car that can travel at more than 200 mph.

“Consumers know Vodafone’s ultrafast 4G is coming. We’ve said very publicly it will be here by the late summer. Even if someone seeing the car wasn’t aware of that, there is no ‘call to action’ on it.”

EE said: “We simply asked why advertise a product that you don’t have? When it comes to 4G mobile networks, Vodafone UK isn’t even on the grid.”

12 NEWS

Paws for thought: advertising campaign features ‘dog-like’ cat

Ibrox stadium to get Huawei Wi-Fi network from next month

EE, Vodafone clash in 4G branding row ahead of F1 British Grand Prix

Huawei scores Wi-Fi deal with Rangers FC

O2 unveils £10m ad campaign ahead of upcoming 4G launch

bemoredog.combemoredog.com

BlackBerry Q5 goes on sale in UK

Frequency makes ‘top firms’ league

• New brand strategy ‘Be more dog’ aims to encourage consumers to ‘get more out of life’

Huawei hires Giles as execHuawei has appointed Colin Giles as executive vice presi-dent of its Consumer Business Group. He will be responsi-ble for the company’s global marketing, retail and open channel development.

Giles was at Nokia for 20 years and held several senior roles including senior vice president for Greater China, Korea and Japan, senior vice president of sales in the east-ern hemisphere, president in China and executive vice pres-ident, global head of sales.

Huawei Consumer Busi-ness Group CEO Richard Yu said: “Colin has a wealth of

experience in mobile brand marketing, device sales, and open channel development. We are thrilled to welcome him to our team and believe he will be instrumental in fur-ther propelling the growth of Huawei’s global market-ing efforts, and contribute to our goal to become a leading consumer brand in the world.”

Giles added: “The company has already made big strides in the global marketplace with the introduction of flagship products that quickly became the talk of the town, like the world’s slimmest smartphone, the Ascend P6.”


MN 2013-0715 News p12.indd 6 10/07/2013 15:02

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By Paul Withers

BlackBerry has appealed for calm after its profits fell by a staggering $178 million (£118 million) in just three months.

The Canadian manufacturer had appeared to be turning its recent run of poor results around, having posted profits of more than $94 million (£62 million) in Q4 ending March 1.

But this recovery was to be short-lived, with the company revealing on June 28 it made losses of $84 million (£56 million) in Q1 ending June 1.

Revenue was up by 15 per cent sequentially and nine per cent year on year to $3.1 billion (£2.03 billion). Despite the increase, the figure still fell below analysts’ expectations – they had forecast revenue of $3.37 billion (£2.25 billion).

The firm also revealed customer numbers have fallen by four million to 72 million during the period, taking total numbers lost in the past three quarters to eight million.

BlackBerry’s shares plummeted by more than 28 per cent to $10.46 (£6.97) as the New York Stock Exchange closed on the day the financial results were reported. It was the biggest drop in the manufacturer’s share price since 2000.

The company’s CEO, Thorsten Heins, attempted to head off any negative reaction to its financial performance during a question-and-answer session conference call immediately after the results were released.

Heins insisted the roll-out of its new operating system, BlackBerry 10, is still in its very early stages and said it is too early to make a definitive judgement on its success or otherwise.

“It’s an ongoing effort,” said Heins. “I’m not looking at the short term, it’s a marathon and we are ready to run that marathon. We will do whatever it takes to make this successful but we will not sacrifice long-term success for short-term numbers.

“BlackBerry 10 is still in the early stages of its transition. In fact, we are only five months into what is the launch of an entirely new mobile computing platform. We are five months into our platform transformation that we anticipate will drive future smartphone devices, greater enterprise efficiency and new mobile computing opportunities for many years to come.

“What is exciting is we are getting very comfortable with who we are as a company and where we will sit in the market. We don’t have to be all things to all people in all markets and embracing this focus allows us to drive efficiency, be flexible and agile, and, ultimately, drive best-in-class innovation.

“We’re continuing to focus on improving all areas of the business as we work towards our near-term objective of making BlackBerry a leading ecosystem and the number one in enterprise.”

‘Steady progress’Heins also maintained that BlackBerry is making “steady progress” and insisted the firm is in a much stronger position

than it found itself in this time last year and despite the apparent slow progress of the latest platform, the new products are being well received across the world.

BlackBerry 10 debuted on the Z10 smartphone at the end of January and two QWERTY-based handsets have followed since then – the Q10 in April and the Q5 at the start of this month.

The manufacturer is expected to release a further three BlackBerry 10 devices before the end of the year and at least one non-BB10 device (see boxout, left).

BlackBerry shipped 6.8 million smartphones in the quarter, up 13 per cent sequentially. Of these 40 per cent, or 2.72 million, were BlackBerry 10 devices, up from the one million units the manufacturer shipped in Q4.

Global take-up of the BB10 devices has been positive, Heins said, and he revealed BB10 handsets are now available in 147 countries in total. The Q10 is now on sale in 96 countries, with an additional 50 countries expected to launch in BlackBerry’s second quarter. The Q5 has been accepted by 149 carriers so far, with 106 of these in 59 countries expected to launch before the start of September.

BlackBerry is also continuing to increase its marketing investment to ensure the new products penetrate the market, Heins added.

He said: “We have made a lot of steady progress in the past year. Today, we are a leaner and more efficient company. A year ago, none of these products existed. They are being well received because of the performance and quality of BlackBerry 10.

“We are doing things right and doing what we said we would do. There’s a lot of work to be done, lots of new products to be built and launched, and lots of marketing campaigns to be generated for those products. This is a very competitive market and you have to be on your toes all the time to perform, and that’s what we are doing.

“All of these are very exciting growth initiatives. We will invest in them, drive them hard and eventually see the value in them. It’s important we get the platform out there, get it penetrated and then build on it with a combination of BB10, BES 10 and cross-platform BBM. From this perspective, I’m confident in the future of BlackBerry 10.”

Heins defended the company’s transition to BlackBerry 10, saying it is too early to gauge the new operating system’s success

BlackBerry on defensive as profits drop by £118m in Q1• Manufacturer’s share price plummets by 28 per cent as CEO Heins reveals Q1 financials

BlackBerry 7 to remain for the foreseeable futureHeins confirmed the manufacturer’s intentions to launch a smartphone running the BlackBerry 7 operating system before the end of this year.

The firm’s president and CEO, who has previously said all the manufacturer’s devices will run BlackBerry 10 at some point, maintained the importance of the company’s established customer base and the need to help them in the

transition to the latest platform. The upcoming BlackBerry 7

smartphone is rumoured to resemble the high-end Bold 9900, but will be available at a similar price to its previ-ous sub-£200, low-end Curve 9320.

“Eventually, all products will move to BlackBerry 10, but our existing BlackBerry 7 customer base remains an important market to us,” Heins said.

“Many emerging markets continue to purchase BlackBerry 7 smartphones based on their effective price point and features such as BBM.

“Our customer base is just starting the transition from the BlackBerry 7 operating system to BlackBerry 10, but we still intend to launch one addi-tional product this year to support the BlackBerry 7 segment as well.”

Heins revealed that the manufac-turer’s PlayBook tablet will not be running the new platform.

The manufacturer shipped 100,000 PlayBook devices in the quarter, 270,000 less than it shipped in the previous quarter and down from the 260,000 figure posted in the same quarter last year.

On May 1, Heins spoke at the Milken Institute Conference in Los Angeles where he said the popularity of tablets may decline to the point that there will be no need for one in five years’ time.

During the conference call, Heins said despite the manufacturer’s best

efforts, the BlackBerry 10 platform will not run on the PlayBook but that BlackBerry will continue to put its weight behind it.

Heins said: “Our teams have spent a great amount of time and energy in looking at solutions that could move the BlackBerry 10 platform experience to the PlayBook.

“Unfortunately, I’m not satisfied with the level of performance and user experience and I have made the diffi-cult decision to stop these efforts and focus on our core hardware portfolio. We will support PlayBook on the exist-ing software platform.”

Q1 2013 $510m

$94m

$84m

Q4 2013

BlackBerry net income Q1 2013 – Q1 2014 (financial year)

Q1 2014

www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk@mobilenewsmag MobileNewsMagazine14 MaNufacturers

“We have made a lot of steady progress in the past year. We are a leaner company” Thorsten Heins, BlackBerry CEO

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By Paul Withers

EE CEO Olaf Swantee last week described the operator’s 4G network as the best in the world during a launch event in London.

Swantee was speaking at a press event held at the National Theatre on July 4 to announce EE was switching on “double-speed” 4G in 12 cities – two more than previously stated (see graphic below).

Average 4G speeds in these areas will reach 24-30Mbps, with theoretical headline speeds of up to 150Mbps.

The network will cover a quarter of the UK population.

Swantee claimed EE’s 4G speeds are unrivalled anywhere in the world.

He said: “When we launched 4G, we talked about a vision of launching the best network and syllabus so that customers can trust us with their digital lives.

“Simply through the launch of the brand and by bringing 4G to the UK, we have already realised that aim. We are the biggest, fastest and undoubtedly the best mobile network.

“We have a network that is faster than the US, faster than any other European 4G network and in line with the fastest networks in Korea.

“We stand for innovation so what we will talk to you today is how we stay one step ahead and how we change the way people use their smartphones and tablets when 4G comes to their area.”

Products and servicesIn addition, EE chief marketing officer for consumer Pippa Dunn unveiled a number of new products and services to run on the

operator’s 4G network, which it claimed will make its offerings more accessible and appealing to customers. All go live on July 17, except the Bright Box 2 (see below), which is released later this summer.

The new products included new ‘Shared 4GEE Plans’, enabling up to five devices (including mobile, laptop, tablet, dongle) to run off a single 4GEE plan and a single bill.

It allows the lead account to split the amount of data available across multiple devices, with alerts being sent when the allowance is close to being met.

From £12 per month, customers can receive unlimited texts and calls. Up to 20GB of data can be shared among users.

Other benefits of joining a sharer plan include two-for-one cinema tickets with EE Film, EE’s 24-hour mobile replacement service Clone Phone Lite, inclusive content add-ons across music, games and TV, and fast-track access to EE’s customer services team. It will officially launch on July 17.

Dunn said: “Our customers tell us their lives would be simpler and possibly cheaper with one single plan per household. These plans offer simplicity, value and flexibility for consumers and open up 4G to a wider audience. It’s a market-leading proposition that shows we are innovating ahead over rivals.”

Prepay broadband EE also unveiled its first prepay broadband offering on its 4G network. Customers can connect up to 10 Wi-Fi-compatible devices at a time (smartphone, tablet, laptop, games console, camera or TV) to a portable Wi-Fi product such as the Alcatel L800 dongle for £50 or the Alcatel Y800 Mobile Wi-Fi for £70.

Plans start from £15 a month for a data SIM that comes pre-loaded with 2GB of data for 30 days. For the first month on sale customers are provided with triple the data allowance for the same price.

They can also top up their data on any prepay plan with add-ons priced at £3 for 500MB over one day, and £15 (2GB), £20 (4GB) and £30 (10GB) over 30 days.

Dunn said: “We’ve had numerous requests from customers at other networks that would love to use a 4G dongle to make their laptop superfast. These plans are perfect for them, and with great indoor and outdoor experiences on 4G, we expect many new customers to benefit.”

Cash on TapEE has also launched a new contactless mobile payments service in partnership with MasterCard, called Cash on Tap.

The service enables customers to top up their smartphone to make payments of up to £20 by tapping a compatible terminal.

EE said over 230,000 outlets nationwide, including McDonald’s, Boots and Greggs, will offer the service, with more contactless readers being installed daily.

To use the service, customers download and open the ‘EE Tap Wallet’ from the Google Play store and select the ‘Cash on Tap’ app from the Wallet. Once set up, EE will automatically add £5 to the balance. The first time a customer adds money

with any debit or credit card, EE will also add £5 to the balance.

The service is compatible with the Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Galaxy S III LTE and Sony Xperia SP, with more handsets to follow in the coming weeks.

Dunn said: “This is an other example of how we are using partnerships to innovate and produce compelling reasons as to why customers should join EE.”

Bright Box 2EE also unveiled a new wireless router called Bright Box 2, becoming the first operator to offer a “plug and play” mobile broadband service to UK customers.

Bright Box 2, which is compatible with smartphones, tablets, laptops and televisions, is designed to complement EE’s ‘superfast’ fibre network, providing double home Wi-Fi speeds of 76Mbps.

It is available out of the box, requiring no installation by an engineer.

EE said it offers a “new standard” of Wi-Fi, called ‘Wireless AC’, which effectively allows users to plug it in anywhere in the home.

Bright Box creates two separate network bands, and the strongest will automatically connect to your device. Pricing has yet to be disclosed.

Dunn said: “We’re not simply content with proving our mobile network, we’re maintaining our focus on delivering the best in-home experience for our customers who take advantage of the speeds of our fibre broadband service.”

EE CEO Olaf Swantee called 4GEE ‘the biggest, fastest and best mobile network’

The new ‘double-speed’ 4GEE locations

EE unveiled new contactless payments service Cash on Tap (left) and wireless router Bright Box 2 (above) at the launch event

EE hails ‘world-beating’ 4G network as it ups speeds• Operator launches ‘double-speed’ 4G in 12 UK cities, with headline speeds of 150Mbps

EE is providing “double-speed” 4G plus data allowances that are double, triple or even quadruple the standard plans for the duration of the contract.

The promotional offer, which lasts until September 30 and is eligible for new and upgrading contracts, is available on plans starting from £26 a month for 500MB of data, up to £51

a month for 20GB, with unlimited UK calls and texts also included.

Dunn said: “We’ve talked a lot over the past few months that we are not going to stand still and how we want to give all of our customers the benefits of a superfast network. This is a promotion to encourage people to get to know 4G.”

“We have a network faster than the US, faster than any other in Europe and in line with Korean ones”

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FLASHBACK

O2 SIM card distributors are facing clawback charges of over £1 million as a result of so-called fraudulent use of its international SIM tariffs by end users.

The clawbacks relate to O2 SIM cards distributed between January and May this year.

O2 SIM distributors include Data Select Network Solutions (owned by Expansys), Elite Mobile, RP Europe, GK Telecom, Comm Sense and Chytel.

The O2 International SIM card launched last November for prepay customers, offering cut-price calls to mobiles and landline numbers.

O2 said the clawbacks relate to SIMs that have been used to commit ‘gateway fraud’.

Samsung claims it is now consistently outperforming its manufacturer rivals for handset sales and has overtaken Nokia to become “by far” the UK’s market leader.

In an exclusive interview, Samsung UK managing direc-tor of mobile Simon Stanford told Mobile News one in every four handsets sold in the UK is now a Samsung. Stanford said the Korean company is in the midst of one of the most “excit-ing times” in the manufacturer’s UK history.

Stanford, who joined Samsung in 2009, said in October he had targeted Samsung Mobile to become the UK’s market leader within two years, naming Nokia as its main rival.

Kent-based distributor and dealer MoCo has signed an exclusive contract with O2, which will see it continue migration of around 5,000 connections from rival networks to O2 in the coming months, mostly from Vodafone.

MoCo has undertaken a significant transfer of its base to O2 in the past year. It has recently let distribution contracts with both Orange and Three slide for missed volume targets, as it has pursued sales for O2 at the expense of others. It has this month also informed Vodafone it is to cease connect-ing to it as a direct dealer.

MoCo is responsible for around 15,000 connections via its dealer base, and manages a further 5,000 directly.

Vodafone and O2 are gearing up for a power struggle in the UK business market, as Vodafone enterprise director Peter Kelly’s delayed overhaul of Vodafone’s indirect channel last week took shape and O2’s business sales team continued its relentless drive for SME share.

Vodafone last week elevated Yes Telecom’s entire dealer busi-ness to ‘Gold Partner’ status, and is understood to be set to put in place a bespoke commission programme.

O2, meanwhile, has launched a new unified communications solution for the dealer market, called ‘Fixed Line Anywhere’, enabling businesses to run all their office telephony commu-nications across the O2 network.

T-Mobile faces massive damages claims from third-party resellers angry at the termination of their airtime contracts.

Former GSM Gateway operator VIP Communications said last week it had prepared a stagger-ing £625 million damages claim against T-Mobile.

T-Mobile maintained it had not been issued with a claim, saying in a statement: “There is no substance to the figure of £625 million.”

Meanwhile, B2B reseller Olive Communications is to sue T-Mobile for £800,000 in lost revenues.

VIP, now in administration, was axed by T-Mobile in 2004 for selling “illegal” SIM boxes, or GSM Gateways.

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Issue 493 July 18, 2011 The newspaper for the mobile communications industry £3.45

Vodafone’s second tier, gold part-ners, have expressed their con-cerns after their quarterly targets were increased without warning.

Dealers claim they were alerted to the changes without any form of consultation earlier this month. Many gold dealers claim the rise is unjustified and will almost certainly see them demoted to Vodafone’s lowest tier.

Vodafone is understood to have increased new connec-tion targets for gold partners by almost 30 per cent, from 35 to 45 per month. Gold partners are also

now targeted on connecting a minimum of five One Net deals with at least 12 connections each year. Data packages £5 or under will no longer count towards their targets, it’s claimed.

Monthly billing revenue by March next year also has to be greater than it was at the start of the financial year last April.

Dealers have criticised what they see as Vodafone’s decision to abandon more sensible and sustainable targets in favour of a ‘numbers game’.

One dealer said: “It goes on about how it wants capability and revenue growth, but it seems it now all boils down to connec-tion numbers again. You either reach your targets or you’re penalised heavily, which is just not right.”

Another dealer said: “Vodafone is behaving as it did in the past and is losing its understanding

of new business activity. “You simply can’t have a

strategy based on connection numbers; surely ARPU and qual-ity is more important. There is no mutual respect between Vodafone and its dealers.”

A Vodafone spokesperson said: “It’s always been part of the Vodafone Partner Programme for performance KPIs to reflect the overall strategy and targets of Vodafone.

“All gold partners have been accredited on One Net and will be supported in terms of train-ing, access to dedicated One Net partner management and backed with a large above-the-line campaign.

“One Net is a key service for Vodafone and our gold partners, who are seen as an essential part in ensuring the success of this unique and exclusive proposition.”

Vodafone gold partners upset by 29pc target rise

Samsung claims it is now consistently outperforming its manufacturer rivals for handset sales and has overtaken Nokia to become “by far” the UK’s market leader.

In an exclusive interview, Samsung UK managing direc-tor of mobile Simon Stanford told Mobile News one in every four handsets sold in the UK is now a Samsung. Stanford said the Korean company is in the midst of one of the most “excit-ing times” in the manufacturer’s UK history.

Stanford, who joined Samsung in 2009, said in October he had targeted Samsung Mobile to become the UK’s market leader within two years, naming Nokia as its main rival.

And according to recent fig-ures from Gfk, Samsung now has

24 per cent of the total UK mar-ket share for handsets. Nokia and BlackBerry have 15.7 per cent and 15.4 per cent respectively.

R&D investmentStanford claims Samsung has outperformed its rivals through the levels of investment in its research and development department, releasing devices to cover different market segments and working more closely with

its reseller partners to improve the instore experience.

He also stressed the impor-tance of “getting it right” first time when it comes to the reliability and availability of handsets, suggesting this is not always the case with its rivals.

Samsung has made claims of UK leadership in previous years while under the leadership of its former VP of UK and Ireland Mark Mitchinson.

But Stanford said it only achieved this position for a mat-ter of days based on Christmas sales, but has now maintained its position as number one for the past two quarters.

Stanford said: “The main dif-ference now is that we are look-ing for a sustained number one position. This means being suc-cessful in many different areas across the market.

“Historically Samsung has got to number one only over the December trading period. But after 17 to 18 weeks at number one this has changed.

“The brand is now being seen as synonymous with quality.”

Android leadershipStanford also says Samsung has more than quadrupled its market share in the smartphone market to more than 16 per cent in 2011, making it the fourth-largest by share, behind BlackBerry, Apple and HTC (see box, above).

This has been aided by sales of new handsets such as the Galaxy S II, which has sold more than three million in the UK since it was launched in May.

But Stanford claimed Samsung will overtake HTC imminently, based on its sales projections.

This would also make Samsung the biggest manu-facturer in the UK using the Android operating system.

“Smartphones are very impor-tant for us and we still strive to be number one in smartphone share. We very strongly believe that we will be the top perform-ing Android vendor over the next six weeks.”

A Nokia spokesperson said of his claims: “With conflicting figures and opinions, based on different measures appearing regularly, it’s Nokia’s policy not to comment on industry rumour or speculation.”

HTC said it does not comment on sales and market share.

Samsung claims “clear” UK handset leadership

40 Mystery ShopperLooking for a cheap festival-proof phone

02 ExcaliburDealer to rebrand after restructure completed

• Smartphone sales quadruple in six months • One in four handsets sold now a Samsung

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34 MitchinsonReady for his biggest challenge at Huawei

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Vodafone and O2 step up B2B fi ght

2 NewsT-Mobile out of P4U and CPW

44 Mystery ShopperHow did Vodafone do in its hometown?

32 T-Mobile Will Obermann sell “his baby”?

• Vodafone launches 50pc revenue share and full Yes Telecom dealer review• O2 unveils unifi ed comms product and training academy for dealer channelBy Michael Garwood

Vodafone and O2 are gearing up for a power struggle in the UK business market, as Vodafone enterprise director Peter Kelly’s delayed overhaul of Vodafone’s indirect channel last week took shape and O2’s business sales team, led by Ben Dowd, contin-ued its relentless drive for SME share.

Vodafone last week elevated Yes Telecom’s entire dealer busi-ness to ‘Gold Partner’ status, and is understood to be set to put in place a bespoke commission programme that will see dealers take as much as 50 per cent in ongoing revenue share.

O2, meanwhile, has launched a new unifi ed communications solution for the dealer market, called ‘Fixed Line Anywhere’,

which enables businesses to run all their o� ce telephony com-munications across the O2 net-work and retain both a mobile and a geographic number.

The service is believed to be a re-branded version of the mobile

telephony system by GoHello. Neither O2 nor GoHello would confi rm a partnership, but the latter said in March it was switching from third-party sales to a network-backed model.

The launch, which O2 briefed

indirect partners on last week, follows Vodafone’s unifi ed com-munications proposition for the corporate sector, ‘Vodafone One’, which it will sell direct. Vodafone said a version for the dealer mar-ket will be made available later in the year, via Yes Telecom.

Its review of Yes Telecom, which has failed to hit internal targets for most of 2009, will be fi nalised in October, when its 40 best-performing dealers over the intervening period will be invited to join its Gold Partner scheme on a permanent basis, and to take revised Gold Partner benefi ts.

Vodafone is dangling a carrot in the meantime, in the form of an extra £40 for new sharer con-nections, an extra £20 on 500MB BES bolt-ons, and an additional £20 bonus on sale of two-year

Vodafone has secured all the mobile contract for Lloyds Banking Group, tak-ing a signifi cant corporate contracts from rival O2 worth around 50,000 lines.

The merger of banks Lloyds TSB and HBOS, as Lloyds Banking Group, was fi nalised in January, with the Government taking a 43 per cent stake in it as part of the Treasury’s £37 billion bail-out of the sector. Pre-viously, O2 served Lloyds TSB and Vodafone supplied HBOS.

Vodafone UK enterprise director Peter Kelly said: “As it has come together, it has just made the deci-sion to put all of its voice, mobile email and mobile broadband to Vodafone. So, we have won an account which has more than 50,000 users in one of the biggest fi nancial institu-tions in the UK, and that is moving in the coming months to the Vodafone network.”

Voda nicks O2 Lloyds contract

Carphone Warehouse has in-creased its terms for sta� to qual-ify for a store bonus, adding pres-sure to sta� to ensure sales and customer service is met.

Carphone abolished sta� com-missions in October last year in a London stores trial, replacing it with a monthly profi t share bo-nus scheme, rewarding sta� two per cent of their store profi t.

Carphone originally set sta� a target of 90 per cent of store targets to activate individual bonuses, but from July 5 it was

increased to 100 per cent as the scheme launched across its en-tire retail estate.

The move requires sta� to hit 100 per cent of store targets for new connections, upgrades, broadband, prepay and accesso-ries, or else miss their monthly bonus.

Sta� must also pass a monthly customer satisfaction survey,

based upon feedback from 30 customers per store each month. Sta� must score 96 per cent in the customer satisfaction survey. This target is expected to rise to 100 per cent also.

One sta� er claimed Carphone is increasing the bonus qualify-ing percentage in a bid to iden-tify quality sta� and drive out poor performers. “We have to work harder for the team. Some sta� have already expressed a de-sire to leave. But that’s the point; you’re either committed or not wanted.”

A Carphone spokesperson said: “The latest incentive plans are directly linked to delivering superior shareholder value and are divided into short, medium and long-term schemes. They are based on hitting certain EBITDA targets.”

Carphone stretches store bonus targets

Continued on page 2Head-to-head – Vodafone’s Peter Kelly (left) and O2’s Ben Dowd

Targets – sta� must hit 100pc

MN 130709 News p1.indd 1 8/7/09 18:53:11

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28 Mystery ShopMobile e-book tablets in Reading

• Around 2,000 Vodafone connections at stake as MoCo chooses O2By James Blackman

Kent-based distributor and deal-er MoCo has signed an exclusive contract with O2, which will see it continue migration of around 5,000 connections from rival networks to O2 in the coming months, mostly from Vodafone.

MoCo has undertaken a sig-nificant transfer of its base to O2 in the past year. It has recently let distribution contracts with both Orange and Three slide for missed volume targets, as it has pursued sales for O2 at the expense of others. It has this month also informed Vodafone it is to cease connecting to it as a direct dealer.

MoCo is responsible for around 15,000 connections via its dealer base, and manages a further 5,000 directly. Its distribution business has been focused on O2 traditionally, and almost en-tirely in the past 12 months. Its sales operation, a Vodafone direct dealer, has split sales between

Vodafone and O2 to now. Around 2,000 lines are to be fought for.

O2 said MoCo has increased O2 sales 300 per cent in the first six months of 2010, compared with the same period last year, and compared with the ‘Approved’ partner average of 125 per cent.

MoCo said its net sales increased 20 per cent in first half of 2010.

It took Anglia Telecom’s number four spot among O2 dis-tributors for sales volumes in the first quarter, behind Avenir, Fone Logistics and HSC. It led O2’s distribution partners for churn (eight per cent, across both its units) and customer satisfac-tion (an 81 per cent approval rat-ing, scored by polling customers post-sale, against an O2 channel average of 68 per cent and O2 di-rect average of 69 per cent).

O2 head of SME sales David Plumb said: “We have worked with MoCo a very long time, and there is a lot of trust there. It is now right up there in terms of sales volumes. And it has one of the highest customer satisfac-tion scores anywhere. Its churn is always single digit. It is often one that introduces ideas that get adopted more widely; like its retention strategies for in-stance.”

Plumb said MoCo’s O2 sales

have increased dramatically with implementation of its Approved scheme among its base and its work lately with O2’s Joined Up proposition and BlackBerry’s BES Express, as well as transfer of business from rival operators.

Some handover of SME ac-counts to MoCo has taken place, Mobile News understands. Plumb said exclusivity will see MoCo collaborate more closely on product and tariff planning, as well as strategies to target cer-tain vertical markets.

Plumb remarked: “Commer-cially, we have a very transparent system. We do not favour one over another. The more a distributor delivers, the more they earn. The biggest benefit with this kind of exclusivity is it brings partners closer to the O2 family. We look at MoCo like a direct arm within the business. And clearly because it is an exclusive relationship, we can be more open with it than with others.”Continued on page 2

Tesco and specialist dis-tributor Shebang last week moved to end their distri-bution relationship, Mobile News understands.

Tesco maintained at press the relationship remained, but well-placed sources sug-gested last week the pair had agreed to work out notice on their contract, worth around £20 million in turnover to Shebang and considered one or the prizes in handset dis-tribution.

Shebang won the deal from 20:20 in late 2008, and has installed its Sellfone EPOS software in Tesco Tel-ecoms Centres. However, Shebang has reconsidered business that is not yield-ing a profit margin of 24 per cent, and the Tesco contract works off small margins on high turnover.

MoCo drops Vodafone for O2 solus contract

O2 Approved partners have fallen foul of Apple’s limited iPhone supply and also of O2’s tiered partner scheme after being told by their distributors they are un-likely to receive stock of the new iPhone 4 for at least two months.

O2’s Approved scheme was set up a year ago to provide elite dealers going via its distributor partners with some of the perks afforded Centre of Excellence dealers.

But Avenir Telecom, Fone Lo-gistics and HSC dealers on the pproved scheme claim to still be awaiting delivery of iPhone 4 handsets, despite its launch on

June 24. Many have now been told not to expect availability un-til September at the earliest.

As a result many deals, in-cluding both new sales and upgrades, have gone unsigned, and dealers are struggling to stop customers going to O2 direct or to Centre of Excel-lence dealers. Some are buying iPhone 4s from Apple SIM-free to fulfil orders.

An O2 spokesper-son said: “We have made the iPhone 4 available across all channels to exist-ing customers first, as we believe this is the most fair ap-proach. In the same way, we gave priority to our existing Centre

of Excellence partners as they have the majority of existing iPhone customers.

“We will continue to allocate stock in a fair and transparent way as it becomes avail-able over the coming months giving stock to our Centre of Excel-lence partners first. We have also started to offer the iPhone 4 to other partners that are authorised to sell it through one of our partner programmes.”

Odds on the iPhone 4 being recalled by Apple after signal issues were shortened significantly last week after a poor review of the device in Consumer Reports saw its share price fall four per cent.

Shebang to pull out of Tesco

September before iPhone 4 available to Approved dealers

Plumb – exclusive distributor

MN 190710 News p1.indd 1 14/07/2010 20:09

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Sales of mobile accessories in the UK market increased by 30 per cent during the first five months of 2012 to more than 5.4 million items sold.

This is according to market research firm GfK, which valued the UK accessories market for the period at £78.5 million.

GfK retail and technology UK account director Megan Baldock told Mobile News the growth had come from screen protectors, sales of which increased by 70 per cent year on year, and car-related acces-sories, sales of which rose by 10 per cent year on year.

Sales of phone cases, however, fell by five per cent year on year, although these still accounted for around 30 per cent of the accessories market.

Baldock attributed the find-ings to the growing number of smartphone handsets in the UK market and the fact customers are taking greater care of them as they are being tied into longer-term contracts.

She said: “The key reason behind the growth of mobile accessories is the continued penetration of smartphones in the UK consumer market.

“The consumer is using their smartphone for more applica-tions and is tied into a contract for 24 months on average.

“There remains to be even more potential for mobile accessories as there is further room to grow the attachment rates between the smartphone and accessory sales.”

GfK also said its research, which measures consumer spending on technology and technology-related goods, showed the number of hand-sets sold in the first five months of 2012 dropped by one million to 10.1 million year on year.

Baldock said this was down to a decline in sales of prepay and feature phone handsets.

Quarterly UK prepay sales are said to have fallen by up to 40 per cent in the past year.

Issue 518, July 16, 2012 The newspaper for the mobile communications industry £3.45

By Paul Withers

O2 SIM card distributors are facing clawback charges of up to £1 million as a result of so-called fraudulent use of its international SIM tariffs by end users.

The clawbacks relate to O2 SIM cards distributed between January and May this year.

O2 SIM distributors include Data Select Network Solutions (owned by Expansys), Elite Mobile, RP Europe, GK Telecom, Comm Sense and System Chytel.

The O2 International SIM card launched last November for prepay customers, offering cut-price calls to mobiles and landline numbers.

O2 told its distributors the clawbacks relate to SIMs that have been used to commit ‘gateway fraud’ – an act which occurs when free or low-cost calls and texts are channelled through a third party to reduce international fees.

Gateway fraud is said to cost operators more than £100 million per year in lost revenues.

An O2 spokesperson said: “In May, we identified some activity involving the connection of SIM cards which were used in unauthorised gateways.

“After a thorough investigation, we are clawing back commission paid to distributors in respect of SIM cards used in this activity.”

But distributors – who asked not to be named – dispute the imposed penalties.

DisputeDistributors who spoke to Mobile News claim O2 is penalising them for premium rate text messages that were sent on the SIMs – something which is not in their terms and conditions and which they have never been charged for previously by O2 or other networks.

They claim instances of clawback include when customers use their credit to pay for services such as placing a bet or even making charity donations.

Despite requests, O2 is yet to explain its reasoning to its partners, they claim.

One distributor said: “O2 has classed this as gateway fraud, but everyone in our market is adamant this isn’t. We’re providing the IMEI number

it was topped up on but they’re dismissing that. In our contracts, premium texting is not classed as part of fraud.

“They have made the distributors the scapegoats and profiteered from the issue.”

Another added: “If premium messaging is now deemed as fraud, then why don’t they ban it from their network?

“It’s a mystery as to why O2 is now classifying this as fraud when previously it wasn’t. They

need to explain themselves as this is a serious amount of money.”

Legal actionDistributors say O2 typically provides a list of clawbacks within the first week of a new calendar month. Money is then recouped from their reseller partners.

But due to the clawbacks dating back up to five months, they claim they will have to pay the bulk themselves and some are considering legal action against the operator.

“There is no way we can levy the clawback, we’ll have to pay for it ourselves,” said one.

“We’re fighting this battle but for us to go legal against these guys will cost a lot of money, so people are weighing up their options.”

Another added: “For many distributors, an annual profit of £1 million is a real achievement and for them to lose this figure in one go is really detrimental.”

O2 SIM distributors furious at £1m clawback penalties• Distributors ponder legal action against ‘profiteering’ operator over gateway fraud fines

Sales of accessories up by 30 per cent in first five months of 2012

24 NewsRIM sets out its survival plans

O2 NewsO2 Priority Moments extended to SMEs

O2 SIM distributors are asking the firm to explain the charges

Accessories growth soars

30% growth in UK mobile

accessories market

£7

8.5

m

MN 2012-0716 News p1.indd 1 05/07/2013 13:47

Issue 418 July 14 2008 The newspaper for the mobile communications industry £3.45

By James Blackman and Michael Garwood

T-Mobile faces massive damages claims from third party resellers angry at the termination of their airtime contracts.

Former GSM Gateway operator VIP Communications said last week it had prepared a stagger-ing £625 million damages claim against T-Mobile.

T-Mobile maintained it had not been issued with a claim, saying: “There is no substance to the figure of £625 million.”

Meanwhile, B2B reseller Olive Communications said last week it is to sue T-Mobile for £800,000 in lost revenues. It is also claim-ing £640,000 in unpaid commis-sion (see box).

VIP, now in administration, was axed by T-Mobile in 2004 for selling “illegal” SIM boxes,

or GSM Gateways. It has been engaged in a long-running legal dispute with T-Mobile ever since.

T-Mobile was unequivocal in its response. “VIP complained to Oftel [Ofcom] around five years ago that T-Mobile had discrimi-nated against it by terminating services to illegal SIM boxes it was operating,” said T-Mobile.

“VIP also threatened to sue us at that time, but have never done so. Ofcom found in our favour.

“As far as we are concerned, VIP has no grounds for a claim against us and there is no sub-stance to the figure of £625 mil-lion.”

GSM Gateways enable calls originating from fixed-line

phones to be routed over mobile networks, allowing customers huge cost savings on ‘fixed’ calls to mobile numbers.

VIP argued in the High Court of Appeal in early March it was buy-

ing EU-approved kit from Germany,

i n s t a l l i n g UK T-Mobile

SIMs, then re-selling them as least-cost routing solutions to the dealer market.

It claimed SIM boxes were resold with T-Mobile’s permis-sion. It said it agreed an order in 2004 for 4,000 T-Mobile SIM cards, was granted 400, and con-nected each to a T-Mobile Busi-ness 1 50,000 plan, enabling 50,000 peak-time minutes to any mobile or landline in both the UK and Europe.

VIP founder Tom McCabe said: “We can only sue for damages once the appeal has concluded.

“If we do not succeed in the High Court of Appeal, we will be successful in the European Court of Justice, because T-Mobile has broken European law.”

Its £625 million damages claim is based on projected earnings of £57 million per year – which it

Ethnic market MVNO Nomi Mo-bile, which runs on Vodafone, is to spend up to £2 million on its first marketing campaign since its October launch.

The campaign is to run on bus stops and billboards in big ur-ban centres across the country, as well as ethnic television and radio. Nomi Mobile is pitching to the Asian, African, Eastern European and Latin American markets with its marketing.

Nomi Mobile chief executive Stuart Eve said: “We haven’t done anything like this yet; we wanted to get the product out to the market first.”

Nomi Mobile has also added

1,400 Martin McColl newsagents to its SIM pack and top-up dis-tribution list. It claims 80,000 outlets for top-ups and 40,000 for SIM packs. It has tie ups with the Post Office, Sainsbury’s, Netto, Co-Op, Londis, Costcutter, Spar and Budgens.

Eve added Nomi Mobile’s dis-tribution deal with ethnic mar-ket rival Lycamobile will con-tinue. But he said distribution via Lycamobile’s channels is reducing month-on-month as a percentage of Nomi Mobile’s to-tal distribution.

£2m Nomi ad spend

Resellers suing over T-Mobile terminations• VIP claims to be filing £625m in damages • Olive set to sue for more than £1m

2 NewsFear of low iPhone stock

36 Mystery ShopperTentative on tariffs in Tunbridge Wells

22 Inside O2Sefton talks innovation

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Olive is on the verge of a deal with a private investor that will see it raise more than £1 million for customer retention following the termination of its T-Mobile contract.

Olive, which intends to sue T-Mobile for £800,000 in lost revenues and £640,000 in unpaid commission, reckons it can churn 50 per cent of its T-Mobile customers to

rival networks with new investment. It has 25,000 T-Mobile customers.

Olive said it will use the capital to pay out the remainder of customers’ T-Mobile contracts.

Managing director Mark Geraghty (pictured) said Olive will “fight T-Mobile all the way”.

Nomi Mobile chief executive Stuart Eve said the MVNO is to actively pursue UK nationals making UK calls too.

It claims its calling charges are cheaper than rival Lebara Mobile. Nomi Mobile offers fixed-line calls at 13p per minute, cross-network mobile calls at 15p per minute and calls to other Nomi Mobile users at 9p per minute.

Eve said: “We are ideally set to sell to the ethnic market, but our UK rates are also very competitive and we feel we can succeed as a value option for national calls too.”Eve – competitive UK rates

Continued on page 4

Continued on page 2

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MN 140708 News p1.indd 1 9/7/08 20:42:07

Three has partnered with machine-to-machine (M2M) specialist Mobius to power near field communications (NFC), or ‘contactless’ payment devices.

The operator’s ‘Ultra-fast’ network, which will in future be composed of 4G tech-nology as well as the current upgraded 3G lines, will be used to provide connectivity to contactless payment terminals compatible with NFC devices.

The ‘Ultrafast’ network will also be used to back up fixed-line data connections

during network outages.Mobius managing director

Douglas Gilmour said: “The latest connected devices face a

serious threat from hackers and criminals. It is

therefore important to make sure retailers and restaurants use a secure

service to protect their customers’ data.

“A fast, reliable data network is required

for this, which is why we partnered with Three.”

Three said the high-data M2M market is a “key focus area” and that it already carries 42 per cent of the UK’s mobile data traffic.

Distributor Micro-P has signed a deal with tablet and stylus manufacturer Wacom.

The new deal will see Micro-P distribute Wacom’s pen tablets (designed to record signatures) and styluses in the UK.

Wacom is known for its Bamboo Stylus product, which offers pen-like writing experience for tablets and mobile devices including

the iPad, Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire.

The partnership aims to broaden US-based Wacom’s reach in the UK.

Micro-P computing general manager Simon Barnard said: “We relish the opportunity to build further awareness of the Wacom brand along with significantly boosting its market share in the UK.”

Three in M2M deal with Mobius for NFC devices

Micro-P set to distribute Wacom products in UK

O2 customers in London get access to free Virgin Wi-Fi in Tube stations

Avenir extends Energizer contract for five yearsBy Samantha Tomaszczyk

Distributor Avenir Telecom has extended its contract with battery and charger manufacturer Energizer for five years.

The partnership, in place since 2010, will see Avenir continue to distribute products such as USB, car and portable chargers, adaptors and cables for devices including mobile phones and tablets.

Energizer’s range will expand to include wireless chargers, a statement from

Avenir on the partnership said.Avenir managing director

Andy Tow said: “Our continuing relationship with Energizer is extremely important to us as Energizer is a leading household name in the UK, offering a wide range of charging solutions.

“Portable power is a key area of growth for the accessories market for 2013, and we are extremely excited to be distributing Energizer’s Qi inductive technology products at such an early stage of its development.”

Virgin Media’s free Wi-Fi service on the London Underground was made available to O2 customers for free from July 9.

In April, Virgin announced it had signed O2 as a wholesale partner for the service. EE and Vodafone are its current partners.

The Wi-Fi service is now available in more than 120 London Underground stations.

Customers wishing to use the

service will have to sign up to O2 Wi-Fi before entering a station that is Wi-Fi enabled. This can be done at one of the operator’s

8,000 Wi-Fi hotspots or through the Android/iOS app.

Users will need to select ‘Virgin Wi-Fi’ from the list of networks and open a browser which will direct them to a ‘Virgin Sign In’ page. They will then need to select ‘Other Provider’ and then the O2 option, after which they will have to enter the O2 mobile number they used when joining O2 Wi-Fi.

Tow – leading household name

18 news www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk@mobilenewsmag MobileNewsMagazine

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AMV Job No: B4104P00479

Publication: Mobile News (POST LAUNCH)

By Michael Garwood

Mobile phone connections in Asia are expected to increase by 1.5 billion in the next four years, representing around half of all new connections worldwide during this period.

This is according to research by the GSMA, in a report discussing the growth in mobile between now and 2017.

Twenty-two per cent of new connections will be from Europe and North America combined, the report showed.

The GSMA said Asia will play a key role in growing the so-called ‘Connected Life’ covering all kinds of different technologies such as M2M.

This will fuel growth in intelligent connectivity in a range of different items such as TVs and cameras, cars (see boxout) through to use in healthcare and education.

Global connections will top 9.7 billion by 2017, up from 6.8 billion at the start of 2013.

GSMA chief marketing officer Michael O’Hara said: “The pervasive nature of connected devices is already transforming the way that people in the region live their lives.

“Over the next five years, Asia will experience an accelerated growth in connected cars, buildings, medical monitors and a whole range of connected consumer electronics and

household appliances. However, continued collaboration between mobile operators and key players in vertical sectors is vital in

further driving the disruptive and pioneering mobile services that will improve the lives of people in the region.”

Operator Mobile Telesystems – part of the MTS Group – has partnered with Ericsson on the roll-out of its LTE network.

The deal will see Ericsson provide hardware and radio services to cover four regions of Russia, approximately half of the country.

The launch of LTE will increase Russia’s connectivity and foster the development of the country’s economy, the companies said.

Under the three-year agreement starting in Q2 2013, Ericsson will roll out LTE in the Siberian, Ural, Volga and Southern Federal Districts of Russia.

During the first stage of the project, Ericsson will supply 10,000 new-generation products

from its RBS 6000 series. In total, MTS Group has

more than 100 million mobile subscribers across Russia, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Armenia and Belarus.

MTS Group CEO Andrei Dubovskov said: “We have already established a long-term strategic cooperation with Ericsson for network infrastructure development, and now Ericsson will support us to deploy next-generation services in major parts of Russia.

“The regions we have targeted for 4G service coverage are very important industrial hubs with key sectors driving the Russian economy: mining, engineering, processing and farming. There is a very high

demand among consumers here – including corporate subscribers – for innovative services and mobile broadband.

“We intend to start building 4G networks in Russia in the near future to provide subscribers in approximately 15 regions in Russia with high-speed data services by the end of 2013.”

Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg added: “We are committed to bringing a great LTE experience to MTS customers and having built more than 150 LTE networks globally, we see the huge effect on society that LTE has had – 4G drives innovation and service development, and we are thrilled to make it available for the Russian market together with MTS.”

Telefónica has launched the first handsets running on the new Firefox operating system in its home market of Spain.

The network operator teamed up with Mozilla and Chinese manufacturer ZTE for the launch.

The new ZTE Open device went on sale through Telefónica’s Movistar stores on July 2, priced at €69 (£59).

Telefónica said more markets, including Colombia and Venezuela, will be announced in the coming weeks.

Features on the device include a 3.5-inch display with a resolution of 480 x 320 pixels, 256MB of RAM and 512MB of built-in storage, which can be expanded via a microSD card slot, and a 3.2-megapixel camera.

Customers purchasing the device in Spain are currently receiving an additional €30 (£26) of credit and a 4GB microSD card.

Telefónica said the launch marks a significant moment for the mobile phone industry with consumers able for the first time to buy a smartphone based entirely on open web standards.

Firefox OS features a “revolutionary” new search capability that allows the device to adapt to the user’s changing needs and is only built into Firefox OS. Swipe to the right from the home screen and enter a search term and the phone will customise itself to that search. For example, search for an artist and get results to buy songs, watch music videos, buy concert tickets and even listen

to them instantly without having to download and install any apps.

Telefónica España CEO Luis Miguel Gilpérez said: “We believe smartphones need to be more open and the web is the platform for making this possible. Consumers should not be locked to any one system but have the choice to consume the content they want and the flexibility to take it with them when they

change devices. “This first

open web device is a milestone in making this possible. This is just the beginning as we plan to bring a wide range of Firefox OS devices to our customers.”

GSMA: 1.5 billion new connections expected in Asia in next four years

Ericsson in LTE network roll-out

First Telefónica Firefox phone out

• Figure represents about half of all new connections by 2017, operators’ representative says

Orange has become the first operator to launch joyn services in France, enabling customers to chat and make file transfers during calls.

Joyn, which is backed by the GSMA, offers customers the opportunity to participate in conversations, send files and share simultaneous images or videos in a private and secure manner, regardless of the network or device.

Orange customers in France can access joyn services by downloading the ‘joyn by Orange’ app directly onto their mobile device from the AppStore and Google Play.

Handsets, including the Sony Xperia Z, HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 will include the joyn app built in from point of sale. By 2014, Joyn will be available across the majority of Android and Window handsets currently available to consumers in France.

Joyn is currently live in nine countries including Spain, Germany and the US and is supported by 14 operators including Orange, Vodafone, Movistar and MetroPCS. A further 27 operators in 17 countries, including the UK, have committed to launching

the services in the near future.Senior projects director at

the GSMA Graham Trickey said: “Customers in France will join a growing community of mobile phone users who are already enjoying the easy access, rich services that joyn offers.

“Orange has been a strong supporter of RCS from the start of the programme and its experience as one of the three operators in Spain who launched the world’s first interoperable joyn solution towards the end of 2012 will certainly contribute to the success of the service in France.”

Operators Vodafone and Wind Hellas have agreed a network share agreement for their respective 2G and 3G networks.

The 15-year deal, which does not include 4G, will provide substantial cost savings and enable customers on both networks to access improved

coverage across the country, the companies announced.

Vodafone and Wind Hellas will create a new technology company to manage their radio access network, subject to approval by the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission.

Orange first operator to offer joyn services

Vodafone in JV deal with Greek operator

RUS

ESP FRA

GRE

GBL

O’Hara – accelerated growth

Trickey – rich services

Connected cars to boost China economy by $22bnThe widespread adoption of connected vehicles will provide a $22 billion boost to the Chinese economy, while reducing traffic congestion.

The GSMA claimed connected services including the ability to report critical data such as vehicle location, driving speeds and directions

will help Chinese commuters save up to two hours per week in travel times.

Beijing experienced a traffic jam in 2012 that spanned over 100km and lasted more than 10 days. The average urban commute in the biggest Chinese cities is already around 80 minutes per day.

change devices.

news www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk@mobilenewsmag MobileNewsMagazine20

MN 2013-0715 International.indd 20 10/07/2013 15:38

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AMV Job No: B4104P00479

Publication: Mobile News (POST LAUNCH)

The Nokia Lumia 925 – the manufacturer’s flagship device for this year (see Device Review on page 38) – has gone on sale in Ireland through Vodafone, O2 and Meteor.

The device is available on Vodafone’s Red plans starting from €35 per month (€149 up front) which includes unlimited Vodafone calls and texts, 100 cross-network minutes and unlimited texts and 500MB of data.

It is available for €35 per month (€219.99 up front) on O2, with 200 minutes, 200 texts, 200MB and an add-on of either unlimited O2 calls or texts.

Meteor is offering the device

free from €49 per month, with unlimited minutes, texts and 5GB of data.

The Lumia 925 is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor

and runs the Windows Phone 8 operating system. It has an aluminium body – the first time a Lumia smartphone has been made from metal.

It has a 4.5-inch screen made from toughened Gorilla Glass, an 8.7-megapixel rear camera with Nokia’s PureView imaging technology, 1.2-megapixel front camera and HD video capability.

The camera features Nokia Smart Camera, which enables users to capture 10 images and use options such as ‘Best Shot’, ‘Action Shot’ and ‘Motion Focus’ to edit and create the best shot.

Other features include 16GB of internal memory with 7GB of free SkyDrive storage.

Eircom is to close its MusicHub streaming and download platform from July 31 as it focuses its attention on delivering superfast broadband across Ireland.

The telecoms provider launched the service in December 2010 and was Ireland’s first free, legal music-streaming website, built in collaboration with major music labels Warner, EMI, Sony and Universal.

Clarifying its position on the MusicHub FAQ page, the company explained: “Eircom Group has taken the decision to withdraw our MusicHub service as it is not a core business activity. Eircom will continue to focus on delivering superfast next-generation technologies to our fixed and mobile customers.”

In an email sent to the platform’s users on July 1, Eircom said MusicHub will close at the end of the month. Any music downloaded will be saved and available for use outside MusicHub, but all credits purchased for use on the platform must be used by July 30.

It is the second time in two months Eircom has closed or sold one of its businesses in order to focus its attentions on its roll-out of fibre broadband.

In May, it sold its home security subsidiary PhoneWatch to Norwegian firm Senior Alarm Corporation for an undisclosed fee, with Eircom Group CEO Herb Hribar stating that PhoneWatch “was not a core business unit”.

Last month, when reporting its financial results, Eircom said it had connected more than

325,000 homes and businesses with fibre broadband, delivering speeds of up to 70Mbps. It said it was on course to connect in excess of 600,000 homes and businesses before the end of the year.

By Paul Withers

Almost 300,000 Vodafone customers across the south-east of Ireland will have access to mobile data services for the first time as part of a €1 billion five-year nationwide investment.

Customers in Wexford, Kilkenny and Carlow will benefit from speeds of at least 2Mbps as a result of the move. It follows the operator’s decision to make these services available to more than 50,000 customers in Waterford last month.

Vodafone customers will also have access to the operator’s ‘HD Voice’ service, which is aimed at improving voice quality and minimising background noise.

Enhanced services Some 145,000 people in Wexford can now experience the benefits of the enhanced services covering areas such as Adamstown, Arthurstown, Blackwater, Carnew, Castlebridge, Clonroche, Courtown, Enniscorthy, Ferns,

Fethard-on-Sea, Gorey, Kilmore Quay, Kilmuckridge, New Ross, Oilgate, Rosslare and Wexford Town. Areas alongside the N11, N25 and N301 motorways are also being covered by the upgrade. An additional 62 locations in the county will be able to access data in the coming weeks.

Vodafone Ireland network operations manager Edel Joyce said: “Smart devices have become a vital part of people’s lives so we have been working

hard to improve our network and coverage to ensure our customers can do more and be better connected. This nationwide upgrade will particularly benefit rural areas in Wexford and its business community as it is bringing data services to a wider catchment.”

Around 95,000 people in Kilkenny will be covered by the upgrade in locations such as Ballyhale, Ballyragget, Callan, Castlecomer, Freshford, Inistioge,

Kilkenny City and Mullinavat. A number of locations along the M9 and N10 motorways will also be covered. A further 40 locations in the county will be covered in the coming weeks.

Some 54,000 people in Carlow will benefit from the

latest upgrade in areas such as Carlow Town, Tullow, Borris, Bagnalstown, Ballon and Goresbridge.

An additional 15 locations in the county will have the services switched on in the coming weeks.

Vodafone Ireland has launched a new roaming offer that enables prepay and contract customers to use their usual calls and texts, as well as 100MB of data, for €3.99 a day in Europe.

Customers on Vodafone’s Red and My Way tariff can opt in via text, online at Vodafone Ireland’s website or through retail outlets. The package is automatically activated once the customer makes or receives a call, sends a text or uses data in one of 32 countries in Europe, including the UK.

Customers are charged a daily fee only on the days they use their phone. They

can also use their inclusive international minutes or add-ons. Any out of bundle usage is charged at domestic rates for calls and texts and 55c per megabyte for data in the EU.

Vodafone Ireland consumer director Marcel de Groot said: “Customers want to use their phone without restriction when abroad for either work or pleasure. Now while roaming with Vodafone in Europe, you don’t have to worry about charges per minute on calls or that your smartphone is running up data bills. This is a hassle-free service for using your mobile while abroad, at an affordable daily price.”

The Huawei Ascend P6 – the slimmest smartphone available – has gone on sale exclusively in Ireland through O2.

The 6.18mm thick device, which has a metal body, is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core processor and runs the Android 4.2.2 operating system.

It has a 4.7-inch HD touchscreen, eight-megapixel rear camera, 4cm macro view, HD video recording and playback, and a five-megapixel front camera with face-enhancing capabilities.

The device also features the latest update to the Huawei’s Emotion UI, which also includes the Me Widget to give users access to their favourite apps from the home screen. New additions to the UI include panoramic shoot and facial recognition photography functions.

It is free on a €55 per month O2 tariff with unlimited calls

and texts as well as 2GB of data. Huawei Device UK and Ireland

executive vice president Mark Mitchinson said: “The Ascend P6 is a game changer, not just for Huawei but for the smartphone market as a whole. It will strengthen Huawei’s name in Ireland and we are delighted to be working exclusively with O2 Ireland to bring this incredibly powerful smartphone to discerning customers.”

Three Ireland has become the first mobile operator in the country to launch a ‘direct-to-bill’ service for customers buying apps from Google Play.

The service allows Three’s customers buying from the Android store to pay using their prepay credit or adding it to their monthly bill. They will then be sent a receipt of their purchase via text message.

Three Ireland chief commercial officer Elaine Carey

said: “Three is committed to providing a unique experience through offering innovative products and services for our customers and the new direct-to-bill service is just another example of this. We want to make the download process as easy as possible for our customers and with the new direct-to-bill service, your purchase is complete with just a few clicks and no more searching for your credit card details.”

€1bn Vodafone investment leads to data services first

IRL

• 300,000 customers in Wexford, Kilkenny and Carlow to benefit from speeds of up to 2Mbps

Huawei Ascend P6 now on sale via O2 Ireland

Three first to launch direct-to-bill service

Nokia Lumia 925 hits the shelves

Eircom to shut MusicHub platform

Edel Joyce with Roche Logistics chief executive Damien Roche

MusicHub – gone from July 31

Ascend P6 – world’s slimmest

Lumia 925 – flagship for 2013

news www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk@mobilenewsmag MobileNewsMagazine22

MN 2013-0715 Irish.indd 18 10/07/2013 14:59

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Uptake of LTE services will be rapid, leaving little room

for error from operators who cannot afford to disappoint subscribers with a poor user experience, according to Actix, a software provider which enables mobile operators to run more effective networks.

Research from Actix shows that four of the current top ten devices on mature European 3G networks are LTE-ready –

the Apple iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S II, Samsung Galaxy S III and Apple iPad 3 – and already account for 35 per cent of all existing network traffic.

The owners of LTE-ready handsets adopt new ‘superfast’ LTE services quickly, with

more than a third of all subscribers ready and eager to make the switch.

Neil Coleman, Actix director of global marketing, says: “Subscribers are ready and waiting on the operator to deliver on day one and will

be very unforgiving of any service issues.”

LTE represents a huge opportunity for operators to drive new revenues, increase customer satisfaction and reduce churn. With heavy investment in premium

network infrastructure and spectrum licensing, the hype associated with new network launches represents a considerable threat to operators’ brands if LTE fails to live up to expectations.

“Operators simply cannot

afford to deliver a single poor day one LTE experience. As a consequence they need to pay special attention to the RAN where issues are most likely to originate,” notes Coleman. They need to ensure there is sufficient coverage in the right locations and that performance is optimised.

Recognising where LTE-ready devices are already being used on the 3G network allows operators to understand capacity demands placed on the network and prioritise where LTE coverage will have the most impact. ActixOne provides operators with a single software platform to access live, geo-located customer

experience data from the Radio Access Network (RAN), the increasingly complex infrastructure between the subscriber’s handset and the core network, identifying the five per cent of locations which carry 50 per cent of all network traffic that need to be targeted to guarantee greatest LTE return on investment.

Only with RAN data will operators gain the network and customer insight to plan the LTE roll-out process and guarantee high-quality network performance from launch.

Nearly 70 per cent of fixed and mobile operators we surveyed

have deployed Wi-Fi to meet the data consumption and service requirements of their customers, yet most are finding it difficult to create a compelling business case for it.

But as Wi-Fi’s role in a mobile network becomes clearer, the monetisation options are becoming clearer as well, according to Analysys Mason’s recently published report ‘The case for Wi-Fi: benefits and challenges for mobile operators in an LTE world’.

Wi-Fi is frequently seen to be competing with cellular

services, but it is playing an increasingly important role in mobile network operators’ (MNO) approaches to traffic

management, improving customer satisfaction and controlling churn – and particularly for MNOs that also offer fixed-line and content services the ability to extend premium home services to on-the-go users. Monetising Wi-Fi services has been difficult, but this situation will change.

Wi-Fi and operatorsContrary to concerns that many MNOs have about Wi-Fi cannibalising cellular traffic, we have seen few specific examples or cases where this is extensively happening. Instead, our conversations with MNOs around the world suggest that Wi-Fi plays four key roles in MNO business strategy:

1. Capacity and coverage extension. Wi-Fi adds network capacity and coverage to macro cellular networks where mobile spectrum may be constrained.

Wi-Fi can also fill in for ‘notspots’ and we expect it to be used with most small- cell deployments.

2. Supplementary wireless data service for end users. Wi-Fi can also be used to augment cellular data caps, offering a low-cost/no-cost wireless service to users and connectivity to devices (such as tablets) that are not connected to the cellular network.

3. Roaming support for out-of-area and international services. Cellular data tariffs are usually high enough to encourage users to find suitable Wi-Fi services for non-critical data communication needs.

4. Service and brand differentiation extending home-based premium services to users on the go. MNO-branded Wi-Fi hotspots serve as a reminder for subscribers (and non-subscribers).

Monetisation challengeToday’s Wi-Fi business cases are relatively basic. Few operators that took part in our survey consider Wi-Fi a significant revenue generator; and those that have already deployed the technology indicated that it is revenue-neutral. But most MNOs view Wi-Fi as critical to customer satisfaction and retention.

Monetisation options are largely limited to direct user charging, location-based services or charging the venue operator, sponsored content and retail partnering with stores such as Starbucks. We expect future monetisation options to include selling insight about Wi-Fi users’ behaviour and usage as well as direct marketing activities such as couponing and tie-ins to loyalty programmes by retailers.

New Wi-Fi solutions from vendors such as Cisco Systems and Ruckus Wireless provide extensive data analytics that can enhance location-based services and offer additional revenue-generating opportunities for marketing, advertising and loyalty programmes. But both MNOs and retailers will need to create new business systems in order to capitalise upon the business opportunities that are offered by the insights. In particular, MNOs will be challenged to invest in systems to enable Wi-Fi analytics data to be combined with a variety of other sources including the MNO’s cellular network data and the retailers’ data

in order to generate useful marketing insights.

Wi-Fi clearly provides key benefits for most MNOs. Monetisation of Wi-Fi by the carriers is in the early stages of development, but Passpoint 2.0 and Phase 2 of the Next Generation Hotspot specifications will be launched in 2013 and both will bring Wi-Fi closer to cellular standards for security, access control and performance management. Monetisation opportunities will improve with these new developments and we expect to see better monetisation of Wi-Fi across MNO and retail markets by 2015.

Chris Nicoll is principal analyst at Analysys Mason

Neil Coleman is director of global marketing at Actix

SPEAKERS’ CORNERChris Nicoll

SPEAKERS’ CORNERNeil Coleman

24 OPINION

No safety net for operators launching LTE services

LTE – Wi-Fi benefits and challenges for operators

“We expect to see better monetisation of Wi-Fi across MNO markets by 2015”

“LTE represents a huge opportunity for operators to drive new revenues”

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MN 2013-0715 Speakers' Corner.indd 24 10/07/2013 11:20

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highbridge-full page 2.indd 1 10/07/2013 14:04

EE CEO Olaf Swantee is clearly a confident man – and seemingly well respected by journalists and colleagues alike.

He is, as we say here at Mobile News, a ‘headline writer’ who issues a lot of sweeping, eye-catching declarations, the latest being that EE has the fastest network in the UK, mainland Europe and the US.

And given the sheer number of updates from EE of late – expanding its 4G reach, doubling speeds here and there – it’s easy to get carried away by his comments and hang on his every word.

However, the operator has come in for some stinging criticism over the reliability of its network coverage – and not just on 4G either.

Mobile News has been contacted by numerous customers and B2B dealers asking whether we have inside information on why their service has dropped off of late.

EE says it is upgrading its network, which may cause some problems in the short term. But for many who have been experiencing problems, Swantee’s comments are far from pleasing.

Now EE’s chief is no fool, and clearly he has reason to say what he does, but the dealers and customers who have contacted us say the current EE experience is far from perfect.

And EE is not alone in this respect. The general consensus, based on comments on Twitter, calls to our office and personal

experience, is that data services in the UK are getting worse.

I carry three connected devices – an iPhone 5 on Orange, a BlackBerry on Vodafone and an iPad on 4GEE.

My colleagues are on O2, Orange and Vodafone (sorry, but I don’t know anyone on Three or T-Mobile). The quality of service across these three networks has become increasingly unreliable in the past few months.

Our office is situated in the heart of London’s ‘Tech City’ around Old Street and, on occasions, network coverage is perfect. But at other times it is virtually non-existent, and even refreshing a Twitter page or sending an email isn’t possible.

Getting a signal is increasingly a case of pot

luck – sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. And it can be infuriating.

I used to listen to my radio app while walking through the City, but now I’m lucky if it connects at all – and even then it is guaranteed to cut out.

King’s Cross in recent months has become a virtual black spot, and accessing data or even making calls on the train has become a waste of time.

This didn’t used to be the case – and many a commuter will echo my comments.

Perhaps 4G is the answer to all our troubles, but for many whose 3G coverage has deteriorated, it would take some sales person to convince them they should spend more each month to rectify it.

Six years on from the first trial of mobile-based payments in the UK, it’s fair to say the technology hasn’t quite caught on in the way many in the space had led us to believe it would.

In December, for example, analyst firm Juniper Research significantly scaled back its 2017 predictions for NFC transactions from $180 billion to $110 billion – with this figure including payments made using contactless cards as well as NFC-enabled handsets.

Similarly, Gartner reduced its 2017 transaction value estimates by 40 per cent last month, “due to disappointing adoption of NFC technology in all markets in 2012”.

Operators are still trying to catch people’s imaginations – Orange’s NFC Quick Tap and O2’s Wallet services, for example.

At the time of writing, UK operator EE had just unveiled its ‘Cash on Tap’ mobile payments service – in partnership with MasterCard – which will allow

its customers with compatible handsets (at launch only the Samsung Galaxy S4, Galaxy S III and Sony Xperia SP) to make payments of up to £20 using their mobile.

A few days ago, O2 announced it is working with mobile money services provider Monitise to develop mobile payment solutions and, in February last year, Vodafone signed a deal with Visa to do the same – but at the time of writing none of these services had launched.

Trial I was invited by Visa Europe to test the technology myself, not in the UK, but in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava, which, according to the payments provider, is miles ahead of other

European towns in its take-up of mobile wallet services (see Backslap, back page).

Arriving in Bratislava, I had several preconceptions about contactless payments, most of them negative thanks to various reports of unintentional payments and double-charging by Marks & Spencer terminals.

And as I set off with my Samsung Galaxy S III, preloaded with the ‘O2 Wallet’ app, knowing this would be my first time paying for goods without cash or cards, it was both an exciting and daunting prospect.

AdvantagesThere are several advantages to NFC transactions, as I discovered during my visit to Eurovea, a large shopping centre in Bratislava. The biggest ‘pull’ is convenience. People often have their phone out while queueing, and NFC means you can pause mid-text, hold your phone over the terminal and continue on your way. For transactions under €20 (or another limit set by the user), the time-saving aspect is particularly obvious, as you do not even have to unlock your phone to enter a PIN.

This may worry some who want the security of a PIN number, but settings can be

changed via the app, meaning every transaction requires users to enter a PIN. A daily limit on PIN-free spending can also be set in this way. This may be safer, but it means transactions take almost as long as if you were using a normal card (although customers can activate the app and type in their PIN while in a queue and simply hold the phone against the terminal once they reach the front).

The Slovakian bank which partnered with O2 to launch the service, Tatra Banka, also pointed out it has a ‘zero liability’ policy on money lost once a user reports their phone as stolen. O2 argued mobile payments are safer than card payments as the SIM can be deactivated instantly.

Many of the benefits NFC can bring are yet to become a reality. For example, O2’s ambitions are to allow users to store their bank card, travel card and loyalty cards on their SIMs. Visa Europe spoke of how, in future, taxi drivers will be able to receive payments by touching their phone against a passenger’s device – as handsets are transformed into terminals.

Poor adoptionFor now, however, the advantages are limited, simply because not all shops take mobile payments, and those that do have different terminals with varying payment limits.

In Slovakia, for example, only terminals supplied by Tatra Banka accepted payments for transactions over €20. For the average consumer, it’s very difficult to know, on entering a shop, whether you will be able to pay for your purchase using your mobile and whether that purchase can be over €20. This

is because not all shops with the ability to accept mobile payments advertise this fact. In fact, during my shopping trip, often the only way I could find out whether I could use the money stored on my SIM was to try to purchase something. This isn’t practical, and made me quite unpopular with several shop assistants who had to unpack my purchases because my payment had been declined.

As has been noted in various other articles about mobile payments, the service can only succeed if there is a collective and universal acceptance of it. And it needs to work.

The set-up and use of the mobile wallet I used was simple, but the problems I experienced when it did not work, and the uncertainty as to whether a store would or would not accept it, made it impractical.

While it is an impressive concept, it has a way to go before people can give up their cash and plastic with confidence.

26 COMMENT

September6-11 IFA 2013Berlin, Germanyb2b.ifa-berlin.com

October8-11 Spectrum Management ForumDexterHouse, Londonspectrumevent.com

14-17 GSMA NFC and Mobile Money Summit New York, USAnfcmobilemoneysummit.com

16-17 IP Expo Earls Court 2, Londonipexpo.co.uk

November4-6 MVNO Networking CongressThe Hilton, Paddington, Londonmvnoevent.com

11-13 Enterprise Mobility BYODDexter House, Londonbyod-event.com

12-13 Mobile Roaming World SummitThe Hilton, Paddington, Londonroamingworldconference.com

14 What Mobile AwardsJumeirah Carlton Tower, Knightsbridge, [email protected]

DiaryDates

THE CUTTING ROOMSamantha Tomaszczyk

Mobile payments take off... in Slovakia

“The service can only succeed if there is collective and universal acceptance of it”

4G? Sort out the UK’s existing network coverage first

Tel 020 7324 3500 Fax 020 7324 3511Editor Michael Garwood [email protected]

Reporter Paul Withers [email protected]

Reporter Samantha Tomaszczyk [email protected]

Reporter James Barnes [email protected]

Sub-editor Matthew Andrews

Designer Andy Hemming [email protected]

Contributors Brad Rees, Jordan O’Brien

Editorial Director Ian White [email protected]

Advertising Manager Garry Wybourn [email protected] Tel: 020 7251 6539

Editorial & Advertising Address Mobile News, Clark White Publications Ltd, 3rd Floor, 70-74 City Road, London EC1Y 2BJ

Editorial Email Address [email protected]

Subscriptions01737 457158 [email protected]

Follow us on Twitter: @MobileNewsMag

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A full feature article on O2 Wallet, in association with Visa Europe, will appear in the next edition of Mobile News, issue 544.

To read the live blog, please log on to www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk and select the Live Blog option along the top, circled in the picture on the right.

London

Slovakia


MN 2013-0715 Opinion.indd 20 10/07/2013 15:46








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EE has spent millions on its superfast 4G network. But is it worth the cost of upgrading? Our real-world London ‘road test’ shows big variations in the speeds available

London 4G Speed Test

Wembley Stadium

London

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It’s been more than eight months since EE made UK history by becoming the first UK network

operator to launch 4G/LTE services.The promise of faster download and

upload speeds to our mobile devices sounds like a must-have – certainly the numerous demonstrations and promises made over the past few years have suggested so.

But, to date, the speed of adoption has been more 2G than 4G, with just 500,000 early adopters.

So why is this? After all, EE, when combining its T-Mobile and Orange brands, has close to 30 million customers. Its CEO, Olaf Swantee, recently predicted one million customers will have signed up by year end – but that’s still only around three per cent of its base.

One reason may be customers’ real need for 4G connectivity, such is the reliance on, and ready access to, Wi-Fi.

According to a number of analysts we spoke to, most mobile users access data through their mobile phones in the home or workplace, typically areas covered by Wi-Fi.

Only outside these areas is the network exposed and the experienced altered. A quick test in Old Street –

London’s so-called ‘Tech City’ – shows 3G data speeds of between 2-3Mbps. The average on broadband for the UK is around 22Mbps.

4G is often hailed as filling this gap – or indeed improving on it. But for some, that’s not yet the case.

According to consumers and dealers who have contacted Mobile News, EE’s network appears to be experiencing a number of problems. Those on both 3G and 4G claim there are signal problems even when making calls previously deemed unproblematic.

In response, EE said last month a number of its customers in isolated areas may have experienced problems as a result of upgrade work, but two weeks later the same criticism continues to filter through.

TestAccording to EE, its network is currently able to offer speeds of up to 130Mbps in a testing environment, but around 10Mbps in practice. However, it says average speeds are set to double.

But how good is EE’s 4G network, and is the criticism of it justified?

Rather than simply take other people’s word, we decided to go on a road trip

around London and see for ourselves just how good – or indeed bad – the performance of EE’s 4G network is.

We started the day in our very own office, situated in the heart of Tech City, in Old Street.

EE says it can provide headline speeds of more than 80Mbps and averages of between 24Mbps and 30Mbps in the area.

While impressive on paper, the results fell some way short, with 4G showing as 9.45Mbps download and 4.5Mbps upload. Not a great start.

We hopped on the Tube and headed towards east London, into the heart of the Canary Wharf business district. On leaving the Tube station, we immediately fired up a speed test app and gave it a whirl. As soon as we pressed the test button it showed speeds of 20Mbps. A few seconds later, however, it settled down to a more modest 14.9Mbps. To put that into perspective, the average broadband speed for that area is just 22Mbps. Presumably, none of EE’s critics are from this area.

We left Canary Wharf satisfied and headed just across the river to North Greenwich. We expected similar results – after all it was a mere stone’s throw away. Unfortunately, our Galaxy S4 couldn’t quite get a 4G signal.

We knew that 4G was by no means perfect, and expected this to happen at several points during the course of the day. However, we had checked EE’s

website before heading out to ensure it was a fair trial – the area is clearly shown as covered. The lack of a 4G signal didn’t stop us from testing the speed though, as it’s always helpful to have something to compare it to. We managed to get an EDGE network (3G) and fired up our speed testing once again. This time the result was a little disappointing – we were right outside the O2 Arena and yet could only get a speed of 3Mbps.

Now, we should take the time to mention that while coverage in London is pretty complete, there are quite a few patches where you’ll find yourself without 4G. If you live in south London, you could find yourself in one of these.

With prices starting at £21 per month just for the SIM, you might want to hold fire on switching to EE until you’re absolutely sure that you can get coverage. EE will soon have prepay tariffs, which means you’ll be able to test your coverage before you go and sink your hard-earned cash into a contract.

If you really want 4G but don’t want to move from your existing network, or even house, do not fret. O2, Vodafone and Three have assured us their 4G networks will be launching later this year (July or August). O2 and Vodafone, as part of a network equipment share agreement signed last year, have even promised 98 per cent of population coverage by 2015 for 4G.

“While 4G coverage in London is pretty complete, there are quite a few patches where you’ll be without”

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MN 2013-0715 4G Speed Test.indd 28 10/07/2013 15:09

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Go west The next three places we visited proved that 8-12Mbps is the bare minimum this network is capable of, with Victoria Station, Clapham Junction and East Croydon all offering speeds of between 23Mbps and a whopping 44Mbps – better than EE’s much-vaunted maximum speed of 40Mbps.

We were starting to see that while in some areas 4G was a massive boost, with incredibly fast download and upload speeds in locations such as East Croydon, in other areas 4G had little to offer over the existing 3G network.

We weren’t done yet, though. We continue onwards as so far we had only tested around south London – and we wanted to have data for all corners of the capital.

Our journey took us to Richmond. Although the area is known for its expensive housing and as a hotspot for the rich and famous, we struggled to get a 4G signal. At the station we couldn’t even get a 3G signal, with just a 0.16Mbps download speed being reported on our speed test, which meant we couldn’t even get Twitter to load.

Just as we were leaving Richmond on the District line, 4G sprang into life. It did, however, turn out to be the slowest 4G result so far that day, managing just over 12.5Mbps.

Speeds weren’t as bad just outside Richmond though, with the District line pulling into Kew Gardens with full

4G in tow. In fact, the 4G was blazingly fast and we were finally able to stream the lunchtime news, as well as upload some photos to Twitter and Facebook – although the upload speed was still a little on the slow side.

There was no such upload problem at Heathrow, with a full 19Mbps at our disposal, which meant taking all those photos of the beautiful architecture at Terminal 5 won’t go completely to waste, as you’ll be able to barrage your social networking profiles in lightning quick time. We were also impressed by the download speed, the second highest overall throughout the whole day – which means you can waste the time away watching countless TV shows and movies after your flight is inevitably delayed.

After spending a few minutes wishing we were flying away to an exotic destination, we finally peeled ourselves away from Heathrow and headed back into London, with Ealing Broadway the first stop on our post-Heathrow list.

Ealing Broadway had the second worst download speed of the day, although the upload speed was nothing to complain about – something we did find ourselves complaining about at Wembley Stadium when the upload speed test refused to complete, despite not having moved an inch from where we initiated the test.

On our way back to base, we quickly stopped off at King’s Cross St Pancras station – destination for the Eurostar

– and responsible for bringing more than 47 million people in and out of the capital a year. Surely this of all places would have a great signal? Wrong. Unfortunately, despite walking around the enormous terminus, we were unable to get a connection at all. And it wasn’t even rush hour.

At this point, the data was conclusive. EE’s 4G network was full of inconsistencies. While the company claims that 4G is on average five times faster than 3G, we couldn’t find many places where it was. With our 3G results coming out at between 3Mbps and 8Mbps, many places were only just managing EE’s average, with seven of

our 4G results topping 20Mbps, and only three reaching more than 30Mbps.

So what’s the benefit of upgrading to 4G? Well, if you’re lucky enough to live in an area such as East Croydon, then the fact that you’ll be reaching speeds well over double that of fixed broadband seems like a good enough reason. Although if you’re not that keen on spending the extra money for the extra oomph, then you might want to wait until other networks show their cards.

Speed in Mbps

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North Greenwich

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Richmond

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Kew Gardens

Heathrow Terminal 5

Ealing Broadway

Wembley Stadium

Marylebone

Oxford Circus

Finsbury Park

Stratford

Cockfosters

Old Street

Speed in Mbps

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By Michael Garwood and Jordan O’Brien

Winner: East Croydon


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MN 2013-0715 4G Speed Test.indd 30 10/07/2013 15:08

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Mystery Shopper is off on his summer holidays to Egypt, and is after a smartphone that won’t succumb to a bit of sand on the beach and water while filming in the sea. Could the retailers come up with a resistant answer?

MysteryShopper

Uxbridge

This was a disaster from the off. When I walked in, all the sales people were serving customers, except one who went to the back of the shop to talk to his mate. Another was behind the counter staring into space.

After five minutes, no one had offered to serve me, so I chanced my arm with the girl behind the counter. She looked up unenthusiastically as I explained what I was after, and laughed nervously.

She said: “Honestly, as they’re smartphones, none of them are resistant. When water gets in them, it gets in them. Once sand gets in them, it gets in them.” It was a real conversation killer.

She then said the Sony Xperia Z was meant to be waterproof up to a certain depth but then advised me to put a good cover on any phone to protect it. She advised me to try Amazon for these. Absolutely useless.

I was served straight away by an unnamed sales assistant, but my enthusiasm was to be short-lived.

In a complete contrast from what the other retailers offered me, this CSA took me over to the Samsung Xcover, which was £39.99 on prepay. I quickly switched my attention to high-end smartphones on contract, and he then recommended the Sony Xperia Z.

I asked how long it could stay underwater, but the response wasn’t at all inspiring: “I think it is to a certain depth. I think you can put it into water for as long as needs be.”

He went on to explain that the Xperia Z, Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One all have the same capabilities, but that each company tweaks it to their own preferences. No help there, then.

He did say there are waterproof cases available online, but that he wasn’t sure about that either. Confusion all round.

The unnamed salesman pointed me towards the Sony Xperia Z, although he said it was costly at £449.99 on prepay. I said I could be swayed towards contract.

He seemed clued-up, explaining that all ports are covered to prevent liquid damage. He then began reeling off more specs, although the odd glance at the card by the handset suggested his knowledge wasn’t that accurate.

Tariff-wise, he said it would cost £29 upfront with 500 minutes, 5,000 texts and unlimited internet for £31 a month.

He said the day before he had compared the Xperia Z camera to others and it had come out top, which was helpful. However, he was stumped when I asked how long it could stay underwater. He hadn’t a clue, and started to Google it on his phone. When this failed, he moved to an iPad, visited the Sony Mobile website and found his answer. It was all very long-winded.

The unnamed salesman took me over to the prepay section and showed me an ugly Samsung. Again I said I’d be more than happy to take out a new contract. Astonishingly, he recommended the Samsung Galaxy S III Mini.

He moved on to the Sony Xperia Z, which he explained was water-resistant, but then returned to the S III Mini. I was very confused.

I asked whether the S III Mini was waterproof. Alas, it wasn’t.

Again back to the Xperia Z. He told me he had seen a video where a lady lost her phone while underwater and when divers found it, the phone had filmed all the water swirling around it. That was impressive.

He went to the counter to find out the best tariffs and recommended a Vodafone deal for £25 a month with 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 250MB of data. I’d heard and seen enough.

O2

Three Carphone Warehouse

EE

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We asked: For a smartphone that can be taken onto the beach and is water-resistant when filming underwater in the sea Vodafone: Sony Xperia Z free on Vodafone Red for £37 a month with unlimited minutes,unlimited texts and 1GB of data (unlimited for the first three months of the contract) Phones 4U: Sony Xperia Z free on O2 for £32 with unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of data

Carphone: Sony Xperia Z free on Vodafone for £25 a month with 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 250MB of data

Three: Sony Xperia Z costing £29 upfront on a £31 a month tariff with 500 minutes, 5,000 texts and unlimited internet.

EE: Sony Xperia Z with no tariff

O2: No deal offered

This store was empty, with five sales assistants out the back. It was 30 seconds before I was approached by a female member of staff. She looked confused by my query, so passed it onto one of her colleagues to deal with.

However, the waiting continued as a few of them started discussing the Sony Xperia Z’s ability to work underwater.

The dominant force in this conversation, Sundit, then approached me after a minute. By this time he was well prepared and explained the smartphone could withstand one metre of water for up to 30 minutes as long as all of the ports were closed up.

Sundit was then quick to go through all the basic details of the Xperia Z, explaining it ran Android and was fully customised as opposed to the iPhone or Windows Phone-based handsets.

He added it had a 13-megapixel camera, so would be perfect for my holiday, and had 16GB of internal memory that could be extended by 64GB with a microSD card. He then brought a bit of humour to the conversation, saying: “My brother has used a Galaxy S4 and Xperia Z. He said the battery life on the S4 is pants but on the Xperia Z he was able to do much more and the battery was amazing.”

I asked about other waterproof phones. Sundit said the Xperia Z was the only top-end smartphone in this category and although he pointed me to a cheap-looking Samsung on prepay,

he pushed ahead with the Xperia Z. Now onto tariffs, and Sunny began

looking for the best deals on his system. He asked how many minutes I was looking for and was quick to recommend Vodafone Red for £37 a month, giving me unlimited minutes, texts and 1GB of data, which would also be unlimited for the first three months of my contract. He added there was a Vodafone app called ‘My Vodafone’ which would enable to check how much of my allowance I was using. It was a really good touch.

I browsed the selection of live devices on offer before I was served by Amy, who shook her head and looked utterly dumbfounded when I told her what I was after.

Luckily a besuited bystander, who may have been a trainer from Sony Mobile as he had a company lanyard around his neck, rescued her quickly and recommend the Sony Xperia Z.

He took over, explaining the smartphone's specs and making it clear that it could survive in up to one metre of water without suffering any damage.

In fact, he owned an Xperia Z himself, and was able to explain all the various shooting modes and video capturing capabilities. He even showed me how good the camera is by taking a picture of the interior of the store.

He explained the full HD screen uses Sony’s BRAVIA Engine technology for added colour and contrast, while there were hundreds of thousands of apps to download from the Google Play Store.

When I asked about tariffs, he handed me back over to Amy and I followed her to a desk to sit down and go through Phones 4U’s customary questioning. Could she redeem herself after her earlier stuttering performance?

She asked all the right questions: if I already had a contract, what network I was on, if I was looking for an upgrade, was I bothered about network, what phone I was currently using, what operating system I was used to,

how much I was currently paying on my contract and when it was expiring.

Amy explained they were, in fact, doing a promotion on an O2 tariff. The Xperia Z would be free on a £32 a month deal that would come with unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of data. It sounded pretty impressive.

She said the only other alternative she would suggest was to move on to EE, which she explained was the only 4G network at present. This would cost me £41 a month with the same allowances. Amy had hit form just as I was about to leave.

Phones 4U Vodafone

Store round-up:

Sundit Puri, 30, Vodafone Best handset HTC OneBest tariff Vodafone Red Sales ethos To be as honest as possible. Treat them as you would want to be treated, so if a customer comes in and we only have one of their chosen handset left in stock, tell them that. Honesty means a lot.

WinnerThis was an unusual enquiry, but the sales assistants shouldn’t have looked as confused as they did.

The CSA at O2 was uninterested and lazy throughout, suggesting no phones were waterproof.

EE’s CSA was confused, knowing nothing about the Xperia Z, while Three’s CSA had to search Google for its underwater capabilities.

CPW’s CSA suggested the Galaxy S III Mini, which he later admitted wasn’t waterproof. Phones 4U’s Amy might have challenged for top spot if she hadn’t started off so badly.

Sundit at Vodafone was the standout performer. His knowledge of the handset, tariffs and general manner towards me were excellent.

Summary

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Mystery

All the SIM cards used in our network Mystery Caller are privately purchased from independent dealers and retail shops. This means the networks have no way of knowing it’s Mobile News calling them.

Mystery Caller is heading abroad once more, and wants to impress her Facebook friends with some underwater footage of the Great Barrier Reef. Can the networks help waterproof her camera phone?

Caller

My call to T-Mobile was a disaster from the start. The unnamed CSA told me: “We do not have any waterproof phones.” I was baffled by this as I had just spoken to Orange (effectively the same company) and they hadn’t said this. “There are cases you can buy,” she told me, but could not say which ones.

I gave her a chance and said my friend had mentioned a waterproof Sony, hoping this would jog her memory. “We only have phones that are splash-proof and not waterproof, which means they are more suited to use by the side of the pool than in it,” the CSA said. I’m not sure Sony would be happy about this statement.

I tried the cases approach again, but she dismissed it with the remark

that “we don’t stock cases for phones.”According to the CSA, the highest

number of megapixels available on a smartphone is eight. Again, I was a bit shocked at her lack of basic knowledge.

She tried to sell me a Sony Xperia SP handset, which has an eight-megapixel camera, purely because it was part of a deal with 4GEE plans at the time.

I asked about the video camera quality on the Xperia SP, hoping she had taken into account at least one of my requirements. “Let me have a look for you,” the CSA said, which meant I was left in silence for one minute.

She then told me the device had a 4.7-inch screen and 8GB memory, which didn’t answer my question. I was told it had “video stabilisation” but the

CSA didn’t have any more information. I asked if the video was HD quality and the CSA said it wasn’t, but that they had one phone which was – the Xperia Z. This also had a 13-megapixel camera, the CSA admitted, but insisted it was the only one with more than eight. This was available for £41 on 4GEE.

I was annoyed that I was being sold a more expensive EE tariff when I had called T-Mobile, so I asked about the prices on its 2G and 3G network. I was placed on hold for three minutes while the CSA checked T-Mobile tariffs (£37 for an unlimited data plan).

The CSA had a pleasant manner, however her lack of knowledge meant nothing could save her from coming sixth.

T-Mobile According to the CSA, the highest number of megapixels available on a smartphone is eight – I was shocked by her lack of basic knowledge

Manner nnnnnUnderstanding nnnnnKnowledge nnnnnHelpfulness nnnnnClarity nnnnnOverall nnnnn

11Time of call 12:47Duration of call 15 minutesLength of queue 0 minutesAssistant introduced by name No

6th

O2On hearing my requirements, Tony at O2 said: “Underwater, hmm.” He said the Sony Xperia Z was the first phone he could think of that is water-resistant. You and every other CSA this issue (bar T-Mobile’s), I thought.

Tony told me the phone has 13 megapixels and is water- and dust- resistant. I asked if it could be used to take photos and record videos underwater, but Tony said he could not make any claims and that I should contact Sony direct.

This was the first of about 15 times he advised me to do this, claiming O2 “does not have the knowledge” to say whether the phone would meet my requirements. He got that right.

I asked if there was a limit to how

water-resistant the phone is, but he said: “I don’t have that information. You need to contact Sony direct because obviously it is their phone.” The answer 30 minutes at a depth of one metre would have done.

This was a pattern for the call. Do the buttons and touchscreen work underwater, I asked. “Check with Sony,” said Tony.

I asked him for specific cases I could buy to make other phones waterproof. “Phones have cases that are rubber or metal. We do not do any cases that are waterproof,” Tony said. I was getting nowhere.

I ended the call. Visiting their website later, I noticed O2 has the Xperia Z in purple, exclusively. He

could have tried this as a sales pitch (the device actually looks quite nice), or mentioned the HD quality of the screen (also on O2’s website).

Asking a customer to contact Sony direct is not realistic, and he used it too often to disguise the fact he didn’t know very much about the phone.

At least Tony was right about one thing – O2 does not offer any cases that promise to make your phone waterproof.

With online retailers, however, it’s a different story. There is a host of products offering different levels of water resistance, for every kind of phone. And although they’re hardly discreet, I’d rather use one of them than buy an Xperia Z from Tony.


4th 15Time of call 12:33Duration of call 7 minutesLength of queue 0 minutesAssistant introduced by name Yes

About 15 times Tony claimed O2 ‘does not have the knowledge’ to say whether the Sony Xperia Z would meet my requirements

The unnamed CSA at Virgin began by claiming all Sony phones are waterproof, listing the Sony Xperia SP, Xperia Z and Xperia L as examples. He sounded very confident for someone who was wrong. Only the Xperia Z and Xperia ZR are waterproof.

The CSA then said he would double-check using Virgin’s system and then compare all the phones that match my requirements. A good plan, although it meant I had to sit in silence to the sound of him typing for several minutes.

After about a three-minute wait, the CSA said only two phones were waterproof after all: the Sony Xperia Z and Xperia L – he still hadn’t corrected himself fully. He said the good thing

about the two mobiles is they have NFC built in – this meant I could use the phone to interact with other Sony products including its TVs and music players. Wonderful – but it seemed he had forgotten about my requirements.

The Xperia Z is scratchproof and shatterproof, the CSA said, and the screen is made of something called “mineral glass”, which makes TV viewing more enjoyable. I had to remind him why I had called.

He told me the Xperia Z can withstand up to 30 minutes underwater, and that during this time it will still receive phone calls. He said I would be able to use it in up to one metre of water, which meant it is more suitable to use in a swimming

pool rather than for diving. The video quality is “as clear as crystal”, he said. He explained this was the phrase Virgin sales people had been told to use by Sony during its training.

I asked him about waterproof cases, but all he managed to say was that these are available in “Sony stores” – but there aren’t any on the website, so I doubt this is true. We ended on a rather bizarre note, with the CSA telling me that Virgin had only launched the Sony Xperia Z that week. “I’m not saying we don’t have any in stock, but we only launched it a couple of days ago”. I wasn’t sure what to make of this.

A few inaccuracies, and being left to wait for information, meant this call left a lot to be desired.

VirginManner nnnnnUnderstanding nnnnnKnowledge nnnnnHelpfulness nnnnnClarity nnnnnOverall nnnnn

5thTime of call 11:49Duration of call 13 minutesLength of queue 0 minutesAssistant introduced by name No

14

We ended on a rather bizarre note, with the CSA telling me that Virgin had only launched the Sony Xperia Z that week

image © Toby Hudson

36 www.mobilenewscwp.co.ukREVIEWS @mobilenewsmag MobileNewsMagazine

MN 2013-0715 M-Caller1.indd 36 10/07/2013 13:01

OrangeMark at EE happened to be a “photographer by trade” as well as a CSA, which gave him an instant advantage over the others.

After asking me about my current provider and budget, he went into a detailed analysis of how the Sony Xperia Z works. He told me lots of interesting facts I hadn’t heard elsewhere. The Xperia Z can apparently withstand depths of 1.5 metres, although the manufacturer will only guarantee devices up to one metre.

Placing the phone underwater locks it, so the touchscreen does not work, but photos can still be taken using a timer or the buttons on the side of the device.

The camera takes 28 frames per second, Mark said, which he assured me

was impressive and would guarantee I got the shot I wanted.

However, Mark warned me, using the camera underwater could drain the battery more than normal.

Just like the other CSAs he knew that the phone can withstand 30 minutes underwater, but he added that recovery time is “really quick” – which meant that the phone would return to normal within a few seconds of being taken out of water.

“You would be able to do nothing until the phone is taken out of water,” Mark said, which was good to know as none of the other CSAs had made this point. I’m not sure if some of the others knew this is the case.

Mark said he would give me his

email so I could go and try the phone out in-store, and then buy it from him for a better deal. He also said that if I bought it, I could make use of the 14 day ‘cooling off’ period, which means I could “give it a dry run, if you excuse the pun” and return it if necessary.

The Xperia Z has an “impressive camera” with 13 megapixels. Mark said he did not know of any other phones that are waterproof without a case, or “naked” as he put it.

I asked him about cases, and he admitted that he did not know about any because he had never been asked about them in four years of working as a CSA. He did, however, know that using a case on a non-waterproof phone would be hard to insure.

Mark at EE happened to be a ‘photographer by trade’ as well as a CSA, which gave him an instant advantage over the others


1st 23Time of call 12:03Duration of call 10 minutesLength of queue 0 minutesAssistant introduced by name Yes

I got through to Richard at Three, who immediately suggested the Sony Xperia Z, which he said was the “most likely phone to fulfil my requirements”. Elaborating, he said the device can be submerged in depths of up to one metre.

Knowing I would be told this, I challenged him and asked how I could increase the depths the phone can withstand. Richard suggested I buy a waterproof case, adding he had seen several on Amazon.

He displayed detailed knowledge when he told me I would need to start recording before I placed the phone in the water, something which the other CSAs did not know (and assumed the touchscreen still worked underwater).

But he did not know whether the same applied to taking photos.

Richard said the Xperia Z is “not really designed for diving or swimming” but that it was perfect for those people who have a habit of dropping their phone into drinks or down the toilet (this can’t be a very big market, surely).

I questioned him on the quality of the camera, both for taking stills and recording videos. He was able to tell me it has a 13-megapixel camera and can record in HD.

Richard said my other option is the HTC One, because of its camera. His sales pitch for the device began with “we all talk about megapixels but HTC is using ultrapixels”. This affects the

way light is brought into the camera lens, he said. The Samsung Galaxy S4 and Xperia Z both have HD video capabilities and 13-megapixel cameras, he added. He finished by saying that the iPhone 5 “is not even close” in terms of camera specifications compared to the other phones he suggested.

He then said he was already on the Amazon website and so would tell me about the various waterproof cases available. They tend to cost between £15 and £30, he said, with one brand promising protection for depths up to five metres. Several of the cases are compatible with all phones, Richard added.

Satisfied, I ended the call, despite Richard’s last-ditch attempts at a sale.

Three Richard displayed detailed knowledge when he told me I would need to start recording before I placed the phone in the water


2nd 22Time of call 11:21Duration of call 8 minutesLength of queue 0 minutesAssistant introduced by name Yes

Quite a low-scoring Mystery Caller this issue, with T-Mobile and Virgin doing particularly badly owing to their CSAs’ lack of knowledge.

Tony at O2 was lucky to come as high as fourth, with his insistence that I contact Sony becoming more annoying each time he said it.

Having said that, most of the CSAs weren’t sure just how waterproof the Sony Xperia Z – the most recommended handset by default – is.

Michael at Vodafone seemed to have a decent general knowledge of handsets, but didn’t know too much about the Xperia Z, which he was trying to sell me.

This is why Three and Orange’s CSAs stood out – they both displayed a specialist knowledge of the handset and fed the information through to me with clarity.

SummaryNetwork averages

15

Vodafone

12

Virgin

15

T-Mobile

14

Orange

15

O2

18

Three

25

20

15

10

05

00

Average score from the past eight weeks

Mystery Caller

I was left on hold for six minutes before I got through to Michael at Vodafone, who began like all the others. “You’d be looking for the Sony Xperia Z?” he asked.

He quickly established that the most important thing for me was the phone’s camera, and this didn’t change his recommendation. Michael first said the Xperia Z is waterproof, and that it can withstand up to 30 minutes in depths of up to 1.5 metres.

“It has one of the best cameras on the market, with 13 megapixels,” he said. I asked him if I could use it to film coral reefs, which are found in shallow sea water. He placed me on hold for two minutes to check with a colleague who had the phone. To make matters worse,

the hold music was by Taylor Swift. Michael returned and told me he

had spoken to his colleague who has said the Xperia Z is not waterproof, only water-resistant. “Water droplets move the phone,” he said. He was just repeating information he had obtained from his colleague and didn’t know much about the phone himself.

I tried a different tactic, asking for recommendations on phones suited to filming and taking photographs. As well as the Xperia Z, he suggested the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4, which he said all had 13 megapixels.

He then corrected himself to say I could get the HTC One with ‘ultrapixels’, saying the phone had two. “That would be a better camera,” he

said. This was a good recommendation, but he failed to drive his point home by telling me about the full HD video on both front and rear cameras.

Michael said he wasn’t sure a waterproof phone case would work, and tried to sign me up to a 24-month contract on the Xperia Z costing £33. I politely declined and ended the call.

For the record, a number of cases allow phones to work while submerged. Like with the Xperia Z, the water pressure means a touchscreen will not function, but by turning videos or setting cameras on a timer, this can be worked round.

Not a bad performance from Michael, but he seemed very unsure of his main recommendation’s capabilities.

Vodafone Michael was just repeating information he had obtained from his colleague and didn’t know much about the phone himself


3rd 18Time of call 12:47Duration of call 15 minutesLength of queue 0 minutesAssistant introduced by name Yes

www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk REVIEWS 37@mobilenewsmag MobileNewsMagazine

MN 2013-0715 M-Caller1.indd 37 10/07/2013 13:01

The Nokia Lumia 925 is by no means a revolutionary phone, bringing more evolution than revolution

to the table, but this should not fool you because this is a phone which has built on the great work of its predecessors.

With the Lumia 925 being an increment change from the 920, you shouldn’t be at all surprised that the phones are quite similar, although we think Nokia has made enough changes to ensure the 925 remains in a category all on its own.

While the 920 was big and bulky, the 925 is a lot slimmer and lighter, thanks to the aluminium design – which is a first for the Lumia range.

Despite all the chopping down, Nokia refused to take out any of the insides of the 920, with the same innards as its predecessor, plus a few notable upgrades.

When picking up the 925, you straight away notice the difference in both size and weight compared to its predecessor. We have to say that this is the first Lumia we have seen that compares to the lightness and thinness of other phones on the market.

While it’s still thicker than a Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One and even a Sony Xperia Z, it wasn’t all that noticeable.

In fact, when compared to an Xperia Z, we’d even argue that it felt less bulky, with the device weighing slightly less in our hands.

When compared to the 920, which came in at 10.7mm, it’s no contest, with this just being 8.5mm thick, which makes it a lot more usable in one hand, as well as a lot less noticeable while in your pocket.

The screen isn’t the largest we’ve seen, at just 4.5 inches, and it isn’t HD, but this is a very different screen from the 920’s,

with Nokia opting for an AMOLED panel rather than the IPS LCD we saw on the 920.

We think that this is around the perfect size for a phone screen, not too big yet not too small. It would be nice to have an HD screen, but as it stands it’s still a vivid display – just like the one we saw on the 920.

It also has the same PureMotionHD+ technology that Nokia claims reduces latency on animations – something we noticed on the 925, as well as the 920, with the Windows Phone UI being very responsive to touch and incredibly fast.

One issue we had with the screen is the fact that it simply didn’t replicate colours in the same way as the IPS LCD, despite having excellent colour replication, although we have to say they definitely felt brighter as the AMOLED screen really helped the blacks blend into the bezel, meaning the colourful UI of Windows Phone looked a lot more vibrant.

True coloursNokia has also included a setting where you can change your colour profile, just as you would your ringtone. This enables you to change both the temperature of the colours as well as the saturation, with many pre-installed options available to you, as well as the ability to tweak it manually.

One issue I find with most smartphones is the inability to read the screen in the sunlight, something that was very much present on other flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy S4. With the 925 I was surprised by how easy it was to see everything on the screen even in incredibly bright direct sunlight.

If you loved the ability to use gloves in the 920, then that is back with the 925, and yes you can even use your keys, although it isn’t advised.

Under the screen are the same three soft buttons we’ve come to expect from all Windows Phones, although we did notice that when our phone had run out of charge, the Windows start button would flash after you plugged it in. This flashing logo is something we want to see used more, with it flashing for other events such as notifications – something common with Android phones.

People have reported that the 925 has a notification light, as many have noticed that there is a red light in the top right corner, but Nokia has clarified that this is not a light and is simply the proximity sensor.

The soft buttons have seen an improvement over the 920 though, with the lights being a lot brighter when illuminated - we did have some issues with this however, as the lights did not always show up, even when in a completely dark room.

Turn the device around and you’ll notice a familiar material, something Nokia hasn’t abandoned on the 925 – despite encasing it in aluminium. We had the white 925 which looked a lot better, but also picked up dirt a lot more, a possible downside to choosing polycarbonate for the rear panel.

Issues of dirt aside, the 925 looks very nice from behind, with everything seemingly well thought out, from the speaker grill to the slight bump on the camera.

The camera is definitely an important feature of the 925, with Nokia claiming that it can capture “more than your eyes can see”, something you’ll hear a lot more about later.

Also on the back you’ll notice three small dots just above the speaker grill. This is where one of the differences between the 920 and 925 really stands out – with the 925 losing its wireless charging capabilities as a standalone device. Now if you want to wirelessly charge your 925 you’ll have to buy a separate case which connects to these three dots – something we’ve seen on similar flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy S4.

Bumpy rideAs far as design goes, it isn’t challenged aesthetically by those three dots, but one place it is challenged is the inclusion of two bumps on the speaker grill – which were noticeable at first, but as we got used to the device, we didn’t even acknowledge their existence.

That said, unlike other flagship devices, the 925 is nowhere near as flat on its rear.

DEVICE REVIEW

Nokia Lumia 925This incremental update from the 920 is less bulky than its predecessor, offers impeccable low-light shots and has an incredibly responsive user interface – is it the perfect Windows Phone experience?

www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk@mobilenewsmag MobileNewsMagazine38 REVIEWS

Key StatisticsDimensions 129 x 70.6 x 8.5mmDisplay 768 x 1,280 pixels, 4.5 inches (332 ppi)OS Windows Phone 8 CPU Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon dual-core 1.5GHz KraitGPU Adreno 225Memory 1GB RAMStorage 16GB or 32GB (Vodafone only) Wireless Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, DLNACamera 8MP, 3,264 x 2,448 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, optical image stabilisation, autofocusBattery Li-Ion 2,000mAh

MN 2013-0715 Device Review 2 page.indd 38 10/07/2013 13:03

As for the edges of device, they are all nice and smooth, making it feel a lot nicer to hold, although we thought that Nokia felt a little too passionately about putting all the ports in one place, with them all being on the top rather than spread out.

The ports you do get are standard slots for both micro SIM and Micro USB as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack.

We do have to applaud Nokia for moving the micro USB slot to the top, as it makes the device a lot more accessible whilst charging, although it was annoyingly positioned being slightly left of centre.

There is no microSD card slot on the 925, with the only remaining features on the side of the device being the buttons for the volume, power and camera functions – something which is also present on every Windows Phone device.

As Nokia has chosen to keep both the left side and bottom of the device free, 920 users may find the 925 a bit of a culture shock, as Nokia has even chosen to put the speakers on the back of the device. This didn’t affect sound too much, although we had to be careful not to cover the grill.

As far as sound quality goes, we were incredibly impressed by the clarity of the sound, although we felt that it could have been slightly louder – especially given the 920’s booming speakers.

It doesn’t have a quad-core processor, nor does it have eye tracking, but the 925 is by no means an unimpressive device when it comes to its ability to perform.

In fact, it performs incredibly well, even in benchmark tests, with the 925 even coping with some intensive 3D games, such as N.O.V.A.

Battery life was also not that terrible – although the 925 didn’t manage to last a full day, it was a notable step up from the 920.

With a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, the Windows Phone UI didn’t struggle at all, switching between apps incredibly quickly with no latency whatsoever – which was also helped by the 1GB of RAM on board.

It wasn’t all coming up roses for the 925, however, with our review unit crashing to the lock screen on occasions. While this wasn’t the biggest issue in the world, as all apps we were running were still going, it often became frustrating and on very rare occasions the phone even restarted itself.

Windows Phone anchorPerformance isn’t really a problem on the 925, nor is design, in fact we’d say it’s one of the better phones we’ve seen in these aspects. It is, however, let down by the lack of apps on Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system.

Those of you who need access to first-party apps from Vine, Instagram or Dropbox will have to look elsewhere as Windows Phone can only offer third-party alternatives.

Windows Phone is by no means a bad operating system, in fact it’s a completely powerful and intuitive OS. But when you have games which launch months after their Android and iOS counterparts, then you’re into dangerous territory, with many people having already moved onto new games.

Despite a lot of third-party support across the Windows Phone ecosystem, with apps such as Instance and 6secs, they’re not always as fully featured as their first-party counterparts, with apps like Instance missing features

such as Instagram’s new video service. It’s great to see the latest Amber

update bring back some features we know and love from Windows Phone 7, such as an FM radio, but it doesn’t go far enough, still behind both iOS and Android, lacking features like a Notification Center or even true multitasking.

Recent leaks have suggested that Windows Phone will get these features at some point, which is a positive sign, but when we’ll get them remains up in the air.

Windows Phone is definitely on its way up, with many new apps launching on the system every week, and even some apps using this platform to launch.

Telefónica, the owner of O2 UK, has also thrown its weight behind Windows Phone, promising to push the operating system even harder than ever – a sign that even the networks are warming up to the operating system.

Nokia are also continuing to make their tweaks to the OS, including the ability to set Nokia’s own software as the default camera, as well as a new Glance Screen.

Glance Screen works pretty well, showing you the time even when the screen is locked. It displays both your battery status and your ringtone profile. We would like for it to display notifications at some point too.

If you don’t like the bright white lighting up your room when you’re asleep, then no problem with a dedicated night mode which turns those white pixels into red ones instead.

Best Windows Phone yet?It’s an incremental change but it’s all about refinement and Nokia has done very well here.

Obvious improvements could be made, something we’ll most likely see with Nokia’s next flagship which is rumoured to be unveiled at an event in New York on July 11.

It’s not all down to Nokia though, with great hardware constantly being produced. It’s nice to finally have something much lighter and thinner, but Nokia could have done more with that screen, although Windows Phone does not yet support high-resolution displays.

While this is the best Windows Phone yet, it’s unlikely that it’s going to be the best for very long, with HTC rumoured to be prepping its next hero device already.

Windows Phone is definitely preparing for take-off, and right now the jet fuel that seems to be powering Microsoft is Nokia’s great hardware. All we need to see now is for Microsoft to add a few more features to bring it more in line with other operating systems.

DEVICE REVIEW

More than our eyes can see?Nokia really went all out with the Lumia 925 camera, promising an even better experience than the already sublime Lumia 920. The company even went as far as putting the PureView name in a prominent position just below the camera – something they chose not to do with the 920, despite it having PureView technology.

While there is a promise of an even better camera, it hasn’t changed all that much, with the same 8.7-megapixel camera and LED flash – something we would have liked to have seen change, especially given the US-exclusive Lumia 928 includes a much better Xenon flash. We did get one new thing with the 925 though, with the addition of a sixth lens.

Initially we didn’t see any improvements on the 925’s camera, which is either testament to how good the 920’s camera is, or Nokia hitting a brick wall. For now we’ll say it’s the

former. The 925’s camera is supposedly focused on bringing you a great low-light experience, which we have to admit, it delivered.

In our testing, we found that face detail was incredibly easy to pick out even in the darkest of rooms. While there was quite a lot of grain in these conditions we’re willing to forgive it, as it’s heads and shoulders above the competition.

Like the 920, the 925 features Optical Image Stabilisation, which aims to ensure that any movements you do make are compensated for. This works best in video, although we found taking photos on a powerboat in the middle of the Thames very easy as well.

With all the improvements of the 925’s camera, we have to admit it was rather hit and miss, with some photos a lot darker than we would expect, something we experienced a lot more on Nokia’s

own Smart Cam software more than the default Windows Phone camera.

The Smart Cam app was a big boost to the 925, with it being capable of taking up to 10 pictures at a time in quick succession, up from the former limit of five through the 920’s Smart Shoot app.

There are also a lot of other cool things you can do with the Smart Cam app, with users being able to create action shots, choose the best out of the 10, focus on motion, change faces and even remove moving objects, which means no more photobombing.

These are features that felt a little gimmicky, with us not actually utilising them very often, although we did find ourselves enjoying some of the effects, so it’s always nice to have them on hand.

The 925 is the first Lumia to get the Smart Cam app, with others set to get it in the next few months, through the Amber Update.

You can set Smart Cam as the default camera app for the 925, although this isn’t recommended as there are a few issues with the app, including the fact that it downsizes 8.7-megapixel shots into more workable five-megapixel ones.

We found that on some occasions we were presented with these dark lines across the screen when trying to shoot, which really disappointed us, as it made taking a photo impossible without it looking truly terrible.

You also can’t switch to video very quickly, which is annoying, so it’s recommended to remain in the normal camera mode. Speaking of video, we were most impressed by what the 925 managed to capture, with both sound and picture looking incredible, even in low-light conditions.

If you want a phone to shoot in both 720p and 1080p with crisp, clear images, as well as impeccable sound, then the Lumia 925 is definitely the one to go for.

www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk @mobilenewsmag MobileNewsMagazine REVIEWS 39

VerdictIncremental changes can sometimes make the world of difference. It doesn’t always have to be a massive change to be something completely new, as seen here with the Lumia 925. A great design coupled with an excellent camera is what you get. It really is the best Windows Phone you can buy, and if you value solid hardware and a great design over software features, then it’s probably your phone of choice.

Jordan O’Brien,What Mobile

The Lumia 925 features an additional lens when compared to its predecessor

Images look simply stunning on the Lumia 925’s camera, especially in daylight

MN 2013-0715 Device Review 2 page.indd 39 10/07/2013 13:03

40 DATA CENTRE

Samsung launches the Galaxy S4 Mini to keep Android ahead of the pack, while Nokia pushes the Lumia 925. Bargain hunters will have a bonanza, with a phone to fit any pocket, price-wise that is.

Carphone WarehouseBudget branded smartphones mark out Sony, Samsung and Nokia as champions, with HTC and Huawei inside. Meanwhile Lycamobile continues to bust a move with its ‘Call the world for less’ campaign in Carphone windows, offering international calls for 1p a minute.

Phones 4UDeals aplenty outside P4U stores with ‘4G Android smartphones’ – customers will probably need to google this to find out exactly what it means. Meanwhile in cheap calls land, Lebara is to Phones 4U what Lycamobile is to Carphone.

O2Nokia Lumia makes a fresh entrance to O2 stores with its Lumia 925 premium smartphone package but is rivalled by the BlackBerry Z10, which is ‘free’ for £32 a month.

VodafoneNokia is back at the forefront of Vodafone messages with a better deal than O2 on the Lumia 925. Budget own-brand Smart Mini is the best prepay deal in-store.

EEEE launches the Samsung Galaxy S4 campaign in a gossamer of 4GEE

communications and compares it, size-wise, to its older bulkier brother the ‘full-fat’ S4.

ThreeMid- to low-tier smartphone bargains in Three stores with a brace of Sony, Huawei and Samsung contract deals and a trio of bargain Lumia, One Touch and RAZR deals on prepay.

VirginOn your marks, get set… there is no physical retail voice dedicated to mobile, while the digital retail voice is heavily positioned to promote the Samsung Galaxy S III.

TescoTesco Mobile talks to the UK masses about ‘free family perks’ and ‘no credit checks’, while their Ronnie Corbett ‘there’s nothing funny about that’ (too right) campaign rumbles on in the background.

WINDOW SHOPPINGBrad Rees, @Mediacells

There are phone deals for all pockets

right now in Carphone store windows‘4G Android smartphones’ – let me just google what that actually means

The Nokia Lumia 925 makes a fresh appearance at O2 – with a dull deal

Bargain mid- to low-tier smartphone deals galore in Three stores

High Street Heroes:Operating system Device Manufacturer

Manufacturer weekly change

OS weekly change

How it all works

Mediacells captures online and high-street promotions and deals

Advertising messages are segmented by device, manufacturer and OS

Comms are weighted to measure representative marketing voice

This results in reliable, competitive intel that you can act on

Notes on pricing:

* Lowest promoted prepay headline price† Lowest promoted ‘free’ monthly rateAvailability: stores where product is available for purchase

-4%-4%-4%

2%2%2%

5%5%5%

-5%-5%-5%

-4%-4%-4%

-3%-3%-3%

3%3%3%

SaMSUNG

aNDrOID

SAMSuNgANDROiD

OThERS OThERS

HTC

blaCkbErry

WINDOWS

blaCkbErry NOkIa

OTHErS

SONy

OTHErS

aPPlE

iOS

*PrEPay:£519.99 ().45% ChANNEL AvAiLABiLiTy.

†CONTraCT:£30 ().100% ChANNEL AvAiLABiLiTy.

SaMSUNG Galaxy S4

Join the mobile purchase journey at www.mediacells.com

-1%

-1%

1%

0%

0%


MN 2013-0715 Window Shopping.indd 1 10/07/2013 11:25

www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk ADVERTISING

horizons To advertise in Horizons call 0207 324 3500 or email [email protected] Single column centimetre price: £35

“Are you passionate about technology and innovation?”

infinite currently have THREE vacancies with our client, Sony Mobile:

Sony Mobile Client Services Manager

Area Development Manager: Birmingham

Area Development Manager - London

Client Services Manager: It is essential that you are commercially astute and have a passion for mobile phone retail and technology and a flair for creating and implementing strategies.

You will need to lead a large nationwide sales team and ensure it delivers excellence in performance.

Alongside the challenge, autonomy and personal rewards this role offers, the salary and benefits for this role are:

∑ Up to £40,000 plus up to 10% performance related bonus

∑ Company Car

∑ Full Mobile Office

Area Development Manager: Would you like a rewarding career that utilises your passion for sales within the mobile phone industry?

Do you have experience in sales and thrive on achieving targets?Can you excite and engage an audience, positively influencing the sales process?Are you able to engage with people and build relationships easily?If you’ve answered yes to these questions, we want to hear from youThe benefits for this role are:

∑ Up to £21,000 per annum plus up to 25% Performance related bonus

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∑ Full Mobile Office Infinite also have a range of other roles. Please visit our website regularly

Application Process

Applications should include a CV with covering letter including the following information:• Details of relevant experience and qualifications • A full UK driving licence, held for at least 12 months, with no more than 3 points.To apply, please register as a job seeker and apply online at www.infinitegroup.co.uk or send your cv to [email protected]

This vacancy will close once a suitable applicant has been sourced. **We regret that we will not be able to respond to all applicants; only those selected for preliminary interviews will be contacted. **

41

MN 2013-0715 TradingPost 1.indd 45 10/07/2013 13:22

42 DATA CENTRE

Most depreciating brands(CompareMyMobile)

LG -14%

Motorola -8%

Nokia -7%

Sony -6%

Samsung -6%

Sony Ericsson -5%

HTC -4%

BlackBerry -3%

Apple -2%

Google -2%

1

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Bestselling accessories(Elite Mobile)

Parrot Bluetooth car kit

HTC One double-dip hard shell

Fonerange Micro USB car charger black

Crystalusion

Apple iPhone lightning to USB cable

Fonerange Apple iPhone 4/4S executive leather case black

Nokia Bluetooth headset

Fonerange Samsung S4 executive leather case black

Samsung Galaxy S4 flip cover black

Avantalk multi-point Bluetooth car kit blue

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Bestselling trade handsets (UK)

Bestselling accessories(Kondor)

Skullcandy Lowrider On Ear Headphones with Mic Navy/Gold

XMI X-mini v1.1 Capsule Speaker

CaseIt Samsung Galaxy S4 Window Case

KitSound PocketBoom Portable Rechargeable Bluetooth Speaker

Kit: Lightning In-Car Charger 2.1A

eKit Capacitive Touchscreen Stylus

Anymode Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini Leather Effect View Book Case

Gear4 iPhone 5 Leather Flip Case

Samsung Memory 32GB UHS-1 Grade 1 Class 10 Micro SDHC Memory Card

Kit: Lightning Mains Charger

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3

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Most recycled phones(Mazuma)

Apple iPhone 4 16GB

Apple iPhone 4S 16GB

BlackBerry Curve 8520

Samsung Galaxy S III

Samsung Galaxy S II

Apple iPhone 5 16GB

BlackBerry Bold 9900

Apple iPhone 4 8GB

BlackBerry Curve 9300

Samsung Galaxy Ace

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Bestselling trade devices (Europe)

Blac

kBer

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Sony

Xpe

ria

Z

5 88 5

Sam

sun

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alax

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sun

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alax

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Current position and last issue’s position

Sam

sung

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axy

Not

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Sam

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€499

.96

10.39%

€355

.79

€139

.22

€197

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0.62% 3.51% 1.54% 1.88%

1.49%

Sam

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€418

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Sam

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€322

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0.92%


MN 2013-0715 DataCentre.indd 46 10/07/2013 13:05

www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk ADVERTISING 43

TRADING POST To advertise in Horizons call 0207 324 3505 or email [email protected]

Euro Communications Distribution LimitedUnits 3-5 Wednesseld Business ParkWaddens Brook Lane, WednesseldWolverhampton, WV11 3SF

08712 884 882www.ECDLTD.com

Best Prices Paid for LCD’sModel Grade A Grade B Grade CiPhone 4 £4.00 £2.00 .75piPhone 4S £4.00 £2.00 .75piPhone 5 £15.00 £10.00 .75pSamsung I9000 £7.00 £4.00 .75pSamsung I9100 £9.00 £7.00 .75p SSamsung I9300 £15.00 £10.00 .75pSamsung N7000 Note I £15.00 £10.00 .75p Samsung N7100 Note II £15.00 £10.00 .75p

• Grade A = LCD and touch panel must function. Touch panel in any condition.• Grade B = LCD must function. Touch panel can be smashed, broken, cracked.• Grade C = LCD broken, touch panel broken.

We buy all makes and models of LCD screens. Call us for a personalised quote.

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WM-subs_MN-half-page_.indd 1 26/06/2013 15:37

MN 2013-0715 TradingPost 2.indd 45 10/07/2013 15:14

So, you are China’s biggest telecoms manufacturer with a mission to make it Samsung-type BIG in the UK, but the public doesn’t know your brand and the media mispronounces your name.

You need to make a big splash. Perhaps a bit of shirt-branding for a Premier League team? Naming rights to a top entertainment venue?

Nah, if you are Huawei (sorry ‘Wah-Wei’) you sponsor a bunch of eccentrics who wear their underpants on the outside of their clothes.

Hence this: “Huawei is pleased to invite you to their Superpower Symposium... a unique one-day event co-curated by Real Life Superheroes (RLSHs) and superhuman experts from across the UK and beyond to educate and inspire Londoners on the RLSH movement. Consumers will

be fully immersed into the RLSH movement, with activities on everything from the extremes of sci-fi imagination to the very real possibilities of futurology in the next decade.”

We were going to send our own in-house superhero, BS Buster – ‘Fighting Corporate Absurdity Wherever He Finds It’ – but it was his day off.

44 LAST WRITES

Mobile News now available on your device (magzter.com)

BACKSLAP

Gusto Telecom Solutions nearly made headlines for poisoning a Rolling Stone. Gusto MD Joe Bennett was backstage at the Stones’ Glastonbury gig where he managed to place some of his ‘Juice’ battery chargers, which look like fruit juice cartons. The Stones were invited to help themselves to the products and you can guess the rest. Ronnie Wood was about to take a swig of what he thought was

liquid refreshment. Fortunately, someone told him it was not a beverage just before he turned

‘Black and Blue’ from sucking on the ‘Hot Stuff’ and suffering his ‘19th Nervous Breakdown’ (that’s enough Stones puns... Ed). Perhaps next time Joe puts a Juice carton out at a Stones gig

he should ‘Paint It Black’ to avoid the possibility of any ‘Doom and Gloom’ (that’s it, you’re sacked... Ed).

The tsunami of iPhone 6 claptrap continues to swamp us. Here’s news from 10 Yetis Public Relations that “65 per cent of Britons predict the next iPhone 6 will generate poor sales when Apple releases it later on this year”.

The Yeti People announced price comparison site Mobile Phone Checker “polled 2,007 adults aged 18 and over from across the country in a bid to determine perceptions and attitudes towards the imminent release of the new handset”.

Really? Ignoring the moot point that 64 per cent of the population is actually around 39 million people, are you sure most of us think the next iPhone will flop even though

we know nothing about it?Apparently so. For as Mobile

Phone Checker’s Adam Cable said with an absolutely straight face: “The results of this study really took the team here by surprise. The fact that 65 per cent of Britons are essentially expecting the iPhone 5S or 6 to flop is not something we were expecting.”

Well, Adam, seeing as how no one in the UK knows anything about the next iPhone, your results really took us by surprise. So, we asked four of our team (all over-18s) if 10 Yetis and Mobile Phone Checker were trawling for publicity.

Three said yes, which means 75 per cent of Britons think your survey is absurd nonsense.

Hats off to Visa Europe for doing its best to hype its NFC payWave service. They even flew us to Bratislava for a day to live-test “wave-your-phone-at- a-terminal-to-buy-stuff”.

Journalists were given an NFC-enabled phone loaded with €60 of free money and a list of shops that offered payWave and told to get shopping.

Alas, the brave new cash-free world envisaged by Visa soon turned into a bit of a car crash – shop after shop on our Visa-approved hit list was unable to process transactions.

So we started live-blogging the experience, but within minutes a Visa Europe minder told us to “refrain” from blogging until

the fault could be found. It turns out Visa Europe

neglected to tell journalists the shops on their list could not process a payment above €20. One shop did not even offer the service.

We thought we would try and use payWave to pay for a drinking event in a brewery.

On second thoughts.

O2’s ads have gone to the dogsHas O2 gone barking mad with its expensive ‘Be More Dog’ ad campaign showing a cat catching frisbees, chasing cars, fetching sticks and swimming in water?

The campaign is meant to “encourage everyone to embrace their inner dog and live life to the fullest by exploring technology” – or so it says here.

Adds O2 marketing and consumer director Gary Booker – in his own words that were not written by a marketing studies intern: “We’re also gearing up for our 4G launch. So it’s the perfect time to get the nation trying more and being a little bit more dog.”

Does this ad have a cat in hell’s chance? Will O2 get a new leash of life? It’s a paw excuse for spending £10 million if you ask us.

‘I haven’t a clue either’‘Computer says no’

DIY superhero: you’ll believe a man can catch a train

‘Up, up and Huawei’Is this some kind of ‘6’ joke?

Visa Wave crashes over us

Ronnie would not like Joe’s ‘Juice’

bemoredog.combemoredog.com

made headlines for poisoning a Rolling Stone. Gusto MD Joe beverage just before he turned


MN 2013-0715 BackSlap.indd 48 10/07/2013 16:43

mobile news #543

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