Tesco Mobile has said that it will offer the iPhone from £20 a month – and that it will also offer the first 12 month contract for the iPhone in the UK.

The MVNO will also offer the iPhone 3GS 16GB for free with unlimited calls, texts, and browsing, on a 24 month contract, for £60 a month.

The lowest Pay Monthly price plan starts at just £20 a month on a 12 month contract. On this plan, customers can purchase iPhone 3G 8GB for £222 and will also receive a £60 flexible credit to spend as they choose each month.
 
Tesco Mobile is also offering iPhone 3G and 3GS on its Triple Credit Pay As You Go price plan. All Tesco Mobile iPhone customers will have at least 12 months free unlimited data and access to the BT OpenZone Wi-Fi (UK). 

 "iPhone is now available and affordable for all, with the best deals in the UK market," said Lance Batchelor, Chief Executive Officer of Tesco Mobile and Tesco Telecoms.
 
"This is a fantastic announcement for us and we’re delighted to make iPhone available to our customers. It shows what a serious player in the mobile market Tesco Mobile has become."

Tesco Mobile's host network operator, O2, recently announced a major investment plan for its network, to met growing data demand.

CeX announced today that it has launched what is believed to be the first mobile valuation and trading service in the UK. The new service, which is enabled by mobile internet technology from Wapple, can be carried out entirely on a mobile phone.

With 100m second hand ‘phones in the UK market and this figure expected to increase with Orange and Vodafone in the pre-Christmas rush encouraging their customers to trade up to a 3G iPhone, it is expected that customers will be keener than ever to recycle their old ‘phones for cash, says CeX. The launch of a new mobile site makes it convenient for consumers to trade their old handset from the actual device itself if they wish.   

CeX was established in 1992, (coinciding with the last major UK recession), and today, with the current market downturn proving to be even tougher, CeX is still providing an appealing retail proposition to consumers where CeX buys, sells and exchanges a range of technology and entertainment products including mobile phones, video games, DVDs, HD films, computers, digital electronics, vision and music CDs. Customers can already trade their mobile ‘phones, through one of its 90 plus stores in the UK or via its web site. 

Now CeX has launched a mobile site http://m.webuy.com where consumers can instantly get a valuation on the ‘phone they are using or another they may wish to sell. They can also go to the web site to buy, sell and exchange their mobile as normal.

Robert Dudani, CEO of CeX said "Mobile trading is an increasingly important part of our customer proposition and by adding a mobile trading service to our retail and etail presence, this is an exciting step forward for us in a very competitive market place."   

CEX's price proposition is that it aims to pay considerably more than the existing competitors trading only via web. Using affiliate web marketing and by adding the mobile channel to complement CeX's existing retail network and web site, CeX can now target potential customers in a much more direct and cost effective way  using SMS push campaigns with WAP link return path and mobile banners that link to the CeX mobile site.

The service uses mobile internet technology to closely follow the transaction that already can be made via the web site. Olea Communications was appointed by CeX to explore the long term growth of the CeX digital business. Olea then engaged THT Consulting to advise on how best to deliver a mobile version of the web experience for mobile and write the initial brief for the service. After short listing three mobile web companies, THT recommended that Wapple could deliver the exacting requirements against budget, in a tight time frame, to launch pre-Christmas.     

Mobile internet specialist Wapple has built and is hosting the mobile service, which included the creation of the API that communicates with CeX's central servers.

The mobile service is available across all handsets – from iPhones to Blackberries and other smart phones to older handset models. Using Wapple's mobile web device optimization service it immediately serves up the make and model of the phone being used, plus network and renders the page images specifically for the entering mobile web device. All handsets traded in are repaired and re-cycled where possible through CeX's stores and web site.

Deutsche Telekom has today announced the world's first voice call over LTE with speech quality based on VoLGA (Voice over LTE via Generic Access) technology and two independent test environments. 

Calls have been made between a test system, installed at Deutsche Telekom Headquarters in Bonn, Germany which is based on a VoLGA implementation of Kineto Wireless and a second totally independent system from Alcatel-Lucent, installed in its test center in Stuttgart, Germany. Both VoLGA-based Voice over LTE systems support inbound and outbound voice calling and SMS messaging between LTE-enabled devices and standard mobile and fixed telephones.

"Voice calling is an essential service for mobile operators. This demonstration is a key milestone towards establishing a future proof eco system and shows a cost efficient way for using voice over LTE", stated Uwe Janssen, Senior Vice President of Core Networks. "The VoLGA test shows how operators could quickly and easily provide next generation voice services, re-using their existing core networks. At the same time this serves as a first step to prepare networks for the industry-agreed mid- and long-term solution for voice over LTE that will be based on IMS."

Becoming the latest operator to re-jig its content discovery and delivery strategy, Orange has launched its Application Shop.

The 5,000 applications, games and ringtones within the shop are available to just one million phones in UK and France at launch, although Orange said that it will roll-out App Shop to millions more customers in 2010. It added that it would also work with developers to add more content and applications throughout 2010.

Developers would benefit from the strategy because it would provide them with cross-platform access to more customers globally and a faster route to market, an Orange statement said.

Yves Tyrode, EVP of Orange Technocentre says, "We are giving customers a tailor-made shop window on the mobile that makes it easier to discover, download, use and manage content. Whether it's a Smartphone user, or someone using a simpler device, we know the demand for content is there – it's just about getting that experience right. That is why we want to give everyone with a phone in their hand the easiest access to personal content, on the most suitable device and tariff, to help them take the parts of the mobile Internet that they know and love, everywhere they go."

The service is already available, initially providing the Orange App Shop ‘over-the-air' to more than one million customers in France and the UK. Sony Ericsson W995,  Yari U100i (France only),  C905, C510, W595, W910i, and Nokia 6303 and  6700 phones are available for the OTA update.
 
Then in January, Orange devices including the Nokia 6700, Sony Ericsson W995 and the Sony Ericsson Yari U100i (France only) will be preloaded with the App Shop and sold in the UK and France. Later, this will also include Samsung, LG, HTC, Motorola and RIM handsets.

Throughout 2010, Orange will continue to roll-out the App Shop service across its footprint, extending it to Spain, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, Slovakia, Belgium, Austria, Moldova and Portugal. In each country, Orange is making the App Shop relevant by providing localised content in the catalogue that best meets specific market needs.

Orange has been working closely with major device manufacturers to enable a simple and consistent user experience across multiple platforms including Java, Android, Blackberry, Symbian and Windows Mobile. Orange has also been working closely with its premium content providers and developer partners to enhance its application delivery process. Offering an increased range of tools and initiatives through its Orange Partner programme, Orange is helping developers reach more customers faster and more effectively.

Yves Tyrode concludes, "Orange Partner and our unique global network of developer centres enable us to deliver unparalleled testing, development and marketing assistance. This innovation network, our close collaboration with device and platform manufacturers as well as content providers and other industry initiatives, illustrates just how committed we are to reducing barriers to application development to get great content for our customers to enjoy."

Orange is also launching a social networking platform called "Give&Get" on its Orange innovation TV website. This platform aims to facilitate online discussion among application developers, who can publish their skills profile and consult the profiles of others.

Out There Media has signed a partnership with Cosmote, giving its advertisers targeted access to almost 100% of the total population of mobile telephony subscribers in Greece. 
 
Cosmote, a member of OTE Group, has over 21 million customers across four countries, including Greece, where it is the leading operator. Cosmote will launch Mobile Advertising within the first quarter of 2010; the service will initially be available through the Cosmote mobile portal, "Cosmote my view". The rest of the company's channels (SMS, MMS, Mobile Broadband, etc) will soon be developed, aiming at putting forward an end-to-end, cross-channel advertising medium.
 
Out There Media CEO, Kerstin Trikalitis commented: "Our partnership with Cosmote is of strategic significance for the sector as a whole and signals a new chapter for the future of Mobile Advertising in Greece. We look forward to a successful and fruitful relationship".
 
Cosmote Group CEO, Mihalis Tsamaz commented: "Taking advantage of our leading market position, we launch a new, dynamic advertising platform, offering our customers complete information on products and services of their interest, as well as an ideal marketing medium for advertisers and companies alike. The development of mobile advertising is expected to further contribute to Cosmote revenue growth".

deCarta, a supplier of software and services for the Location-Based Services (LBS) industry, today announced a partnership with Samsung Electronics to provide developers with location geoservices on the new bada smartphone platform.  Newly launched Samsung bada enables developers to create applications for the next generation of mobile devices from Samsung.

Through the partnership with deCarta, developers will be able to add maps, location-based search and routing instructions to any application designed for bada-enabled mobile phones.  Consumers will benefit from the variety of location-powered applications – available in the Samsung Application Store in the first half of 2010.
 
The agreement between Samsung and deCarta was announced by both companies at the Samsung bada launch ceremony in London.
 
Under the agreement, application developers on the Samsung bada platform will have access to deCarta's Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that invoke a complete set of geospatial services such as maps, mobile local search, vehicle and pedestrian routing, geocoding and reverse geocoding with minimal development time.  The services are built on deCarta's high-volume Hosted Web Services (HWS) geospatial platform.  Developers can take advantage of a carrier-grade hosting environment and the services will be provided at no cost to developers.
 
"deCarta is excited to be providing the location component of Samsung's bada eco-system," said J. Kim Fennell, President and CEO of deCarta.  "Because deCarta's technology simplifies the task of integrating maps and location-based search into applications, developers can build even more compelling applications, and Samsung customers will benefit from a new class of location-enabled applications."
 
Dr Ho Soo Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of Medial Solution Center at Samsung Electronics said, "We are proud to partner with deCarta – the premier independent LBS platform – to enable developers to create world class location-enabled applications.  LBS is now one of the fastest growing sectors in mobile applications and we believe it is a vital component for bada."

Romtelecom has announced a five-year managed services agreement with Ericsson. The Romanian operator is handing over responsibility for part of its field operations activities starting from January 4, 2010.
 
Yorgos Ioannidis, CEO of Romtelecom said: "This strategic partnership is in line with our commitment to become an even more efficient operator, and to continue to launch new and innovative voice, data, broadband internet and television services to our subscribers."

Valter D'Avino, Head of Managed Services at Ericsson, added: "We have invested more than USD 1 billion in our global tools, methods and processes, and these will now add value for Romtelecom and ultimately its subscribers. This agreement is an exciting new opportunity to actively support the fast evolution and growth of the Romanian telecom sector."
 
The contract marks the first managed services deal for Ericsson in Romania. Ericsson will be responsible for corrective and preventive field maintenance of switching and power systems.

As a result of the agreement, about 400 employees from Romtelecom will be transferred to Ericsson.

Asian operators under pressure

The number of participants in the Asian mobile market continues to increase unabatedly. Driven by the persistent interest in new mobile services, modern handsets and other services, price and performance pressure on network operators is also increasing. Rarely do new offers at the same time generate significant revenues. Too often the contrary is the case: fast mobile data traffics, attractive web-based services, mobile broadband, etc. are at the top of wish lists of end consumers and force network operators to do massive investments on their part into new stable and high-performance infrastructure. In the context of flat-rates that are ruinous in part and customer behaviour that is changing in high gear, real-time based solutions are required in particular in order to be in a position to profitably make use of and enhance competitive edges.

Leading network operators in dialogue with Orga Systems
Both real-time based, fully convergent approaches and results from other mobile markets were the main topics in the dialogues between leading Asian network operators and real-time expert Orga Systems at the occasion of the Next Generation Telecoms Summit in Singapore. The more than 15-year long experience with real-time based billing systems for tier 1 operators and the successful support of service providers in price-intensive growth markets have gained recognition among analysts and decision-makers long since. Therefore, leading representatives of the industry from the APAC region called for targeted answers to the question of correlations and results between dynamic market requirements on the one hand and profitability on the other hand.

The strategic approach suggested by Orga Systems was able to convince them: with highly scalable and extremely reliable real-time based billing systems, the fundamental foundation is laid in order to launch additional mobile services efficiently, to monitor results, to enable the end-consumers to have full cost transparency and access to new services. In short, to actively the shape market.

txtNation, a specialist in global premium rate billing services, has announced it is now offering Voice Short Codes otherwise known as a VSC in the UK market. Available across all UK mobile operators, the new short codes have proven to be a very successful marketing tool due to their convenience, claims the company.

Voice Short Codes are compatible with SMS Short Codes, which means they complement existing SMS or Premium Rate services, and an provide an effective marketing vehicle to allow the combination of voice and data components for any campaign or application. The same 5-digit short code number can therefore be used for both voice calls and SMS messaging, keeping costs to the business to a minimum.

The revenue generated from the charge to customers for Voice ShortCode services is shared by txtNation, the network operators and their clients. Customers pay for these premium rate calls in the normal way; either on their mobile phone bill or out of their pre-paid credit.

Michael Whelan, Director txtNation "I predict that in 2010, shows like the X-Factor, Deal or No Deal and other high grossing interactive TV shows will be using VSC's for enhanced user participation. If you look at the issues with premium rate numbers and how difficult they are to advertise when compared to Voice Short Codes, this alone will result in better acceptance."

According to txtNation, the major advantage that txtNation see for Voice Short Codes over other types of customer engagement and billing types, is that with a VSC end users only have to call a 5-digit number, which is much more memorable than a standard phone number or premium rate number. This means that users are more likely to remember the short code and therefore re-use the service. The overall experience is that much better, resulting in improved revenues and less customer service incidents.