The fortnight started with a disappointment and not just for me. Last Thursday (November 2) I had an appointment to meet Andrew Harrison of The Carphone Warehouse but he cancelled on me at the last minute. I wasn t too surprised as he had done the same thing a month earlier just before Vodafone announced it was getting cosy with Phones 4U and leaving Carphone out in the cold.
Setting that precedent Harrison s second cancellation left me suspicious and sure enough on the same day we were supposed to meet Carphone came out with some headliner six month figures. The official line is that he had been whisked off to the US presumably to do whatever he has been doing at home to Carphone s partnerships there.
On the day Carphone came out with a loss for the half-year thinly veiled by a vague announcement about talks with Vodafone over a pan-European multi-platform deal. When I quizzed the guys at Vodafone over this exciting pan-European plan they didn t really know anything about it.
Now it s fairly well known that it s not hard to get the boys in the City excited and confused about technology as long as you toss in some big names and some big business words. And I think that s what this apparently phantom deal is all about something to turn heads on the trading floor while Carphone files a huge loss. It didn t work though and the media was all over the story.
When all s said and done Carphone has done well. Underlying business performance is strong so one-time expenses on things like free broadband aside Carphone should be the darling of the high street again quicker than you can say Free broadband anyone? Lets hope so otherwise Andrew and I are never destined to meet.
At time of writing the trial for the vicious murder of City Lawyer Tom ap Rhys Pryce goes on. Stabbed to death yards from his own home one of the things he was attacked for was his mobile phone. It s a scenario that would make anyone s blood run cold. There s some cheer to be had from reports just out (Tuesday November 7) from the National Mobile Phone Crime Unit that said mobile phone crime in London at least has fallen down to a mere 52708 in the last six months. That s just over one in every 70 people per year or one person on any double-decker bus not including those who have to stand.
Even so any reduction is to be commended and well done to all those organisations who have championed the Immobilise scheme as a deterrent to mobile phone thieves. Ironically the fact that Mr ap Rhys Pryce s phone was not disabled turned out to be the defendants undoing. They were stupid enough to ring their friends on it which led the police to their door. One of the defendants also sold the phone on suggesting that it was indeed stolen for the purpose of converting into cash.
But is this always the case? If someone was going to mug you wouldn t they take your phone anyway so that you won t immediately phone the police? In that case Immobilise or any other remote blocking initiative will be of limited use. Food for thought perhaps.
Earlier last week I attended briefings held by arguably the two most powerful men in the UK mobile industry and what a difference there was in the two briefings. Last Tuesday I attended Vodafone s walk-though of its half-year figures presided over by Arun Sarin and chief financial officer Andy Halford. The event was held at a Vodafone site in London s Fleet Street where I had to be escorted through the building for security reasons. As I sat waiting for the briefing to begin Sarin breezed past me surrounded by besuited City lackies. We all filed into a lecture hall to hear Sarin and Halford go through the figures and tell us how they were pretty good really. Although he was genial Sarin was pretty static in tune with the fairly dry subject he was trying to clarify.

No old school ties
The difference between that and O2 s briefing the next day couldn t have been more marked. Granted O2 had already gone through the mill of explaining their own financials days before so Peter Erskine could afford to be a little bit more relaxed. Rather than hiding behind a wall of lackies he walked the floor of the cavernous room at the Vinopolis complex near London Bridge station. He greeted attendees with a smile and a shake of the hand. Just siting the meeting in a building that is a celebration of wine is a point in his favour in my opinion.
When up on the stage Erskine and his fellow presentees were stood in full view and animated not sat on a panel like they were on University Challenge.
The difference I think echoes the way the two companies seem to be presenting themselves. It s not that I think that Vodafone isn t a dynamic company it is. But why cling to this corporate formal way of presenting itself? Granted O2 is the geographically smaller younger and perhaps more hungry of the two and can afford to appear a bit more informal. It s not listed anymore so it no longer has to wear the old school tie to impress the City.

The new stores to open over the Christmas period include sites in Newmarket and Retford both opened this week as well as Clacton Stafford Manchester Newcastle Guildford Edmonton and Middleton.
In total Phones 4U has acquired 11 stores from The Link.
Phones 4U s footfall is at an all-time high thanks to its current television advertising campaign according to Phones 4U retail director John Welsh. Phones 4U is looking to maintain its level of contract sales over Christmas and post record pre-pay sales.
Welsh said: We enjoyed a record Christmas last year and we aim to improve on that this year by continuing to focus on customer service. It is essential to the success of the business for our staff to be highly motivated over the next few weeks.
There is a definite buzz around the stores and it is picking up each day. We re well known for our bonus schemes and it is fair to say that as in previous years our top performers will be extremely well rewarded. It is engrained in our culture to reward achievement accordingly.
Phones 4U will hold regional road shows and conferences for sales staff in the run-up to Christmas. Its management team is also expected to visit stores in the coming weeks to boost morale and sales.
Welsh added: We simply have to be better than anyone else on the high street. I am confident that we will continue to give each and every customer a great experience and the right deal. The force is with us.
Phones 4U predicts its biggest pre-pay handsets will be the Motorola W220 and L6 the Samsung
E370 and the Sony Ericsson K750i during Christmas.

The market is set to grow from $1.4bn ( 0.72bn) to over $3.3bn ( 1.69bn) by 2011 according to a report by Juniper Research. The most lucrative region for adult content is expected to be the European market which Juniper reckons will contribute almost 40 per cent of revenues during the period. The biggest seller will be soft porn according to Juniper.

The service will be automated from early next year. Customers will be able to back-up address book information from May.
O2 UK capability and innovation director Russ Shaw said: Many customers run their businesses or even their whole lives through their mobile. They worry about losing their mobile and the data stored in it. They also love to share stuff with their friends without having to spend too much time on it. My bluebook takes away the worry so our customers can get on with their lives.

The scheme gives customers free technical support and advice for 30 days when they buy a new phone.
After the 30-day period expires customers have the option to continue as VIP club members for 1.99 per month. The fee covers customers new handsets and any other mobiles in their household.
VIP club members also gain access to a special web site offering discounted electrical goods and money-off vouchers.
Rob Ballard channel manager for TMTI s VIP service said: As well as technical support for their mobile customers can also get advice about what Bluetooth products their handset is compatible with and even guidance on what handset to buy next.

The mid-range Nokia 6300 is a slimline bar 13.1mm thick with a stainless steel frame. It is expected to retail for 250 ( 169) on pre-pay. The 3G 6290 Series 60 smartphone includes multiple alarms and external short-cut keys. Its estimated retail price is 325 ( 220) before VAT. The quad-band Nokia 6086 camera phone includes a large keypad and will retail for around 200 ( 135) before subsidies or taxes.
Nokia executive vice president and general manager for mobile phones Kai Oistamo said: These new products give consumers a choice in the right balance of technology and design to meet their lifestyle and budget.
Nokia also said last week that its N80 Internet Edition handset will support cheap mobile VoIP calls with Gizmo VoIP by SIPphone.
Nokia predicated that the Internet would become the key driving force in mobile. Nokia CEO and president Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said:
The next wave of the Internet will be to make it truly mobile creating new ways for people to connect to others and find info from wherever they are. Nokia intends to be at the forefront of this new era and truly merges the Internet and mobility.

Laura Evans who purchased a contract with O2 won free line-rental for her contract s lifetime.
The team from Market Street in Manchester will also be rewarded with a grand night out where they will have 1000 spending money for a team social.
Retail director John Welsh said: It is the first time our stores have ever hit 1million new contracts in a year. 2006 will be a record year it s just a matter of by how much.
Jim Slater marketing director asserted that the new contracts only represent a segment of Phones 4U s revenues across a range of sales arenas.

Peter Rand who was head of CARE has been promoted to a European role while John Chancellor formerly head of Nokia enhancements has left to join Anovo.
Both men had been strong supporters of the Nokia car-kit accreditation scheme. A pilot version of the scheme on which around 120 engineers have enrolled on is set to end later this month.
With Nokia due to make a decision following an assessment of the scheme some engineers are now concerned that the departure of two of its most vocal supporters could see it end.
Vernon Craig an engineer with Freedom Installations said: It would be a real shame that without Peter Rand and John Chancellor this doesn t happen. The accreditation would mean more business because we would be able to prove that we can fit Nokia car kits to a higher standard than unaccredited engineers.
Michael Walmsley an engineer with Communications Network said: If you want a boiler fitted you use a Corgi registered engineer. This scheme would be the best thing to set apart the skilled engineers .

Alexander is replaced as head of MoCo Business by Mark Elliot previously at John Caudwell s old fixed-line business Homecall.
Elliot and Bill Wilson head of MoCo Distribution will report in to Alexander.
MoCo has also drafted in Jonathan Ricketts from Midland as new dealer account managers. The appointments are part of a wide-ranging expansion. It s interviewing three to four people per day and will look to recruit top-quality B2B dealers in the New Year.
MoCo managing director Ian Robinson said: Harvey is MoCo s main point of contact for the networks manufacturers and other suppliers.

Vodafone searches for new way
Business in new territories was doing well for Vodafone but revenue in the UK was at 2.54 billion for the period marginally down on the same period last year. Profit metrics for the UK were also flat.
At a briefing last Tuesday group CEO Arun Sarin highlighted the ways in which costs were being cut including an IT outsourcing deal to IBM and EDS expected to deliver 25-30 per cent of unit cost savings in three to five years. He was also proud to announce an advertising revenue deal with Yahoo! to introduce advertising on Vodafone customers mobiles if they wish.
Sarin said: Over the last few months all the trials we ve been conducting suggest to us that our customers were willing to accept mobile advertising with a couple of conditions: that it would be on an opt-in basis and that we share the economic benefits that we get from advertisers. You ll see the first adverts going out in the April May June timeframe.
In line with other mobile players such as Orange and The Carphone Warehouse Vodafone has launched a fixed broadband proposition across Europe. The network hopes to launch a DSL service in the UK by early January 2007. Given the highly publicised teething problems some rivals have had rolling out their DSL propositions Sarin is understandably cautious about how Vodafone extends this service.
He said: The DSL proposition in each country will be different because the economics of each country is different and we are watching these economics. We will stay with wholesale relationships. We are a new entrant into this market.
Another technology that the Vodafone s board directors are pushing for next year is mobile broadband. The network is currently rolling the capability out across all territories.
Andy Halford group chief financial officer: We are on track to getting 60 per cent coverage by the end of March for 3G networks and by March around 60 per cent of our 3G cell sites will also be running HSDPA.
O2: Christmas and beyond
O2 also filed performance figures for its third quarter last week. O2 is no longer a listed company in the UK so it only gave a snapshot of its performance. However in that period net service revenues grow by 15 per cent in the UK. O2 CEO Peter Erskine was cheerful about the network s performance but was much more circumspect about the introduction of sophisticated non-voice services.
he said: 3G will take off when the handsets get as good as 2G and that s happening around about now. I don t think it s going to be an enormous 3G Christmas but its starting to take off.
As far as a fixed DSL service is concerned Erskine was also much more hands-off than Sarin. O2 purchased DSL operator be in June this year but has not yet rolled out a broadband service. Nor will it for the foreseeable future. Erskine said: We ll launch when the customer experience is good and the one bill proposition works. At the moment too many people are being frustrated by the experience of signing up broadband and mobile bundles.
The prospect of advertising did not seem to pique Erskine s interest either.
As I speak we are conducting trials on mobile advertising he said: We are interested in that space but it s absolutely critical we get the customer experience right. I think if you do nothing but just pump adverts at people unless we can get revenue streams on the ads it s just an excuse to give away free minutes.
In contrast O2 is looking at smaller scale perhaps less ambitious non-voice services to complement established voice and SMS revenues. One of these is My Blue Book which is a hosted service allowing customers to centrally store pictures and addresses so that they can be synched with files on their PCs or blog sites on the Internet.

Mainstays remain
Clearly both networks haven t lost sight of the fact that voice revenues are still the mainstay of financial performance although Sarin admitted that prices across the group are decreasing by 15 per cent year on year.
Erskine on the other hand took the positive tip. Voice minutes are growing he said: The only reason people take on a fixed line these days is to get DSL so it s no surprise O2 is still interested in voice.
Core business aside the two biggest networks with over 30 million customers between them will definitely both be pushing non-voice services in 2007.