Vodafone criticised for not honouring contract clause

The Independent on Sunday says Vodafone has been refusing to release customers from their contracts if the company's new call charges result in their bills going up by over 10%... even though there's a contract clause that allows customers to quit immediately. Vodafone has told the newspaper that most customers aren't affected because they don't exceed their monthly call allowance - but it'll release customers whose bills are increasing by 10% or more.

EC unhappy with 'per minute' charges

The European Commission says it may restrict networks from charging 'per minute' for calls. EC spokesman Martin Selmayr said 'per minute' charging means the average consumer in Europe is paying 24% percent more than the minutes they actually use to make calls - and 19% more for receiving calls. Currently only France, Lithuania, Portugal and Spain have legislation requiring per-second billing, although some other countries also offer it. The GSM Association says the billing increment doesn't matter as long as consumers are aware. [Sources: EurActiv.com; EUobserver.com]

Mobile TV set to grow by 60% by 2010

The number of Mobile TV subscribers worldwide is expected to grow at more than 60% between 2007 and 2010, according to research copany RNCOS. Most revenue will come from the Western European region, followed by the Asia-Pacific and North America regions. [Report]

Google plans 'Android Market' for applications

Google is planning a rival to Apple's iPhone App Store: the Android Market, which will let consumers buy and download software for Android-powered mobile phones. Users will be able to leave feedback for programs, rather like YouTube. [Android blog]

Phones 4U marketing director leaves

The Marketing Director at Phones 4U, Jim Slater, has left the company this month. He'd been wth Phones 4U for four years, having joined from Sunderland Football Club. [Source: BrandRepublic.com]

Vodafone close to South Africa deal

Vodafone is apparently close to agreeing a deal that would give it control of South Africa's Vodacom network. It currently owns 50% of the network. Vodacom has just agreed to buy Gateway Telecommunications, which offers telecommunications services in Africa. [Sources: Financial Times, Telecoms.com]

Roaming prices drop again today

The EC capped price for making and receiving mobile phone calls when 'roaming' abroad in Europe is about to drop again, a year after the cap was introduced. (There's more information about cutting the cost of calls abroad in our special podcast). [EC press release]

MMA European Bluetooth guidelines available for comment

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) has published its European Bluetooth Marketing Guidelines for public comment. [Press release; guidelines]

Sony Ericsson's future questioned by Sony CEO

Sony's CEO Sir Howard Stringer has suggested to German newspaper Die Welt that the future of Sony Ericsson is uncertain if the two companies don't change the way they work together. [Source: welt.de]

Mobile Content Tools worth over $8 billion in 2008

Companies that offer mobile services - including music and electronic game publishers, television broadcasters, video production companies, content aggregators and telecommunications networks - are expected to spend more than $8 billion on the tools needed to create, edit, manage, and load content onto mobile devices by the end of this year, according to new market research from The Insight Research Corporation. [Press release]

Orange caps 3G speeds for iPhone in France

The French Orange network has apparently admitted it's been restricting 3G iPhone speeds to 384KB, although it says it'll increase speeds to 1MB by mid-September. This has added to suggestions that a similar situation may exist in the USA. [Source: Newsfactor.com]

Samsung marketing man returns to Motorola

James King, who moved from Motorola to Samsung in July, is returning to Motorola and being appointed as European marketing director. Mr King resigned from Samsung a few days ago due to 'personal circumstances. [Source: MarketingWeek.co.uk]

Is mobile technology giving us what we need?

Ofcom has published a consultation called "Mobile citizens, mobile consumers", which considers whether the mobile sector is delivering on the needs of UK citizens asking whether regulation should adapt to reflect market and technological changes. The consultation, which ends on 6th November, is looking at

• customer service, consumer choice and value for money;
• mobile as part of the broader communications market; and
• the future of industry regulation, including mobile termination rates.

[Executive summary; News release]

Android drops some Bluetooth support

Google's latest version of the Android Software Deveopment Kit, which helps people create programs for the forthcoming Android-powered mobile phones, removed some support for Bluetooth and Google's GChat service. Although Android will work with hands-free Bluetooth accessories, the current version now won't let developers incorporate Bluetooth features in their own programs. [Source: InformationWeek.com]

Adobe launches Photoshop service for cameraphones

Adobe has announced Photoshop.com Mobile, which will offer online photo storage and sharing to US customers with a compatible Windows Mobile handset. 5GB of storage is free, with additional storage chargeable. Uploaded photos are synchronised with Photoshop Elements 7 (although the software isn't essential to use the service). [Sources: Flashdevices.net; Photoshop.com Mobile]

Apple iPhone TV ad complaint upheld by ASA

A complaint about Apple UK's TV advertisement for the iPhone has been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority. The ad, created by TBWA London, said "all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone". However, there were complaints because the iPhone does not support Flash or Java technology, which is used by many web pages. The ASA upheld the complaints, saying that Apple's statements in the advertisement ("You'll never know which part of the internet you'll need" and "all parts of the internet are on the iPhone") implied users would be able to see all the website content normally accessible through a PC. [ASA adjudication]

New Mobile News podcast now online

Iain Graham, Mark Bridge and James Rosewell take their usual look at the week's mobile industry headlines in this week's Mobile News podcast, sponsored by Brightstar Europe. There's also a discussion about the developments in Mobile VoIP and a review of the 5-megapixel LG KC550. As always, you can download or listen at TheFonecast.com and on the Mobile News website... and you'll find us on iTunes and via RSS too.

Mobile advertising worth over $12 billion by 2011

Mobile advertising will be worth over $12 billion by 2011, according to new research from Gartner. They also say that networks need to work hard to win their share of this money because there's fierce competition from device manufacturers and internet companies. [Press release]

New Samsung marketing head leaves

James King, who joined Samsung Mobile in July as the company's UK head of marketing, is leaving due to personal circumstances. [Source: mad.co.uk]

UK's mobile web use to be overtaken by USA

Mobile internet company Bango says mobile internet use in the USA is increasing and will soon overtake the UK, which currently accounts for 19.35% of worldwide mobile browsing. The US follows at 18.88%, then India at 10.82%, South Africa at 8.82% and Indonesia at 4.08%. [Press release]

Mobile Phone Throwing championships won by dog

The 9th international Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships took place in Estonia last week with, perhaps unsurprisingly, Estonians winning the men's and women's categories. The men's champion was Timmo Lilium who threw a phone for 85 metres, while Valeria Kadorova won the women's championship with a throw of 36 meters. 12-year-old Finn Riku Kankkunen threw 55 metres in the junior category, while Cara the dog won the freestyle category with a maximum 6 points. [News release]

New 'projection keyboard' mobile revealed?

T3 magazine says it's "stumbled across" a new mobile phone with a laser-projected QWERTY keyboard. Fair enough, but it's also been revealed that the new phone - the O1 - is being promoted on a website owned by T3's publisher. Hardly "stumbled across", it seems. [Sources: Cellular-News.com; Pause.com]

Alcatel sales up 60%

Mobile phone manufacturer Alcatel shipped 6.7 million units in the first half of this year, up 60% on the same period in 2007. The company, which is controlled by Chinese firm TCL Communication, also saw its revenue increase by 13% and net profit go up from HK$2 million to HK$112 million (£7.7 million). [Source: Mobile News]

Actors paid to queue for iPhone

It's been reported that Orange paid actors to queue outside its shops in Poland to increase interest in the 3G iPhone, which launched there last week. The company is quoted as saying it paid actors to wait outside 20 stores. [Source: cnet.com]

50 million mobile broadband users worldwide

The GSM Association says there are now over 50 million mobile broadband users worldwide - and they're expecting the number of users to be growing at more than 4 million a month by the end of the year. This compares with just 11 million users last year. Their figures are based on the number of High Speed Packet Access users who are connecting via 191 compatible mobile networks around the world. Current UK sales of USB Mobile Broadband dongles are said to be over 100,000 per month. [Sources: Press release; Mobile News]

Apple faces 3G iPhone legal action

Jessica Alena Smith from Alabama is taking legal action against Apple, claiming the 3G iPhone doesn't offer the "twice as fast" network connection it advertised. She says the phone only uses 3G 25% of the time and has experienced an "inordinate amount of dropped calls." Ms Smith is hoping her complaint will become a 'class action', which will let others join the legal action. Apple issued a software update last week to improve the iPhone's 3G service. [Source: Macworld.com]

Asda cuts prepay costs

Supermarket chain ASDA has introduced a set of call charges for its prepay mobile phone service. It's cutting UK call charges to 8p a minute and texts to just 4p, saying this makes it Britain’s lowest-cost 'pay as you go' operator. Last week Ikea launched a mobile network with calls at 9p and texts at 6p. [Press release]

Condom ringtone

Visit www.condomcondom.org for a free ringtone that sings "condom", courtesy of the BBC World Service Trust. It's part of an Indian campaign to prevent the transmission of HIV.

Ericsson and STMicroelectronics to merge

STMicroelectronics and Ericsson are going to merge Ericsson Mobile Platforms and ST-NXP Wireless into a 50/50 joint venture, producing chips and other mobile components for a number of mobile manufacturers including Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG and Sharp. [Press release]

Consumers using mobile web for high-street bargains

Mobile internet users (well, users of the BT ToGo smartphone, really) are using their mobiles to check prices and product reviews when they're on the move, according to new research. 45% have browsed for goods or services, with one in three checking prices or looking for a review. Consumers spent an average 2.5 hours a week using the mobile internet, with 71% visiting search sites, 66% visiting news sites and 45% visiting travel & transport sites. 22% of users visited price comparison sites. [Press release]

New Mobile News podcast now online

We're celebrating a hundred podcast episodes from TheFonecast.com this week. We take a look back at our first broadcast in July 2006 and also catch up on news headlines from the last couple of weeks. In addition, we chat to John Browning from 20:20 Logistics about the restructuring that'll see 20:20, Dextra Solutions and Caudwell Logistics turned into a single distribution business. Plus there's a preview of the Samsung i8510 8-megapixel 'innov8' camera phone. You can download or listen at TheFonecast.com and on the Mobile News website... and you'll find us on iTunes and via RSS too.

Ringback tones to lead mobile content growth

Ringback tones - music heard when you're waiting for someone to answer their mobile phone - are likely to become the most attractive mobile content category within the next four years, according to research from MultiMedia Intelligence. It says worldwide revenue for ringback tones will nearly triple to $4.7 billion (£2.5 billion) by 2012, with ringback tone revenue coming a close second to mobile gaming revenue. (The mobile premium content figures don't include mobile video and mobile TV). Total revenue is expected to reach $29 billion by 2012. The company says ringback tones are largely unaffected by Digital Rights Management or piracy, unlike conventional ringtones. [Press release]

Google tests mobile ads on YouTube

Google is testing advertising on its mobile YouTube service in the USA and Japan, with viewers who choose certain clips being shown display ads on the web page. [Google blog]

3 given best mobile broadband award

Independent comparison site Top 10 Broadband has announced its first annual broadband awards. 3 won the award for best mobile broadband provider, with O2 and Vodafone also featuring in the awards. The site, which launched in January 2007, is funded by commission payments on broadband sales. [Press release]

ZTE aims to be top 5 mobile manufacturer in 2010

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reports that Chinese mobile manufacturer ZTE aims to become one of the world's top five mobile phone producers within the next three years. The company, which is currently the world's 6th largest mobile producer, says it'll increase handset production by 60% next year to reach 80 million units - and wants to produce 100 million units per year by 2010. [Source: SCMP.com]

iPhone software update

Apple has launched software version 2.0.2 for the iPhone. Apple hasn't indicated which problems - if any - the update will fix, although some users have reported improved 3G coverage and a faster response from the phone's software. [Source: BBC.co.uk]

13% of mobiles are smartphones

Analysts at Canalys say that 13% of all mobile phone shipments in Q2 2008 were smartphones; a total of 12.6 million devices. Nokia led the smartphone market, followed by RIM. Canalys also estimated that 58% of smartphones shipped in the EMEA region had integrated WiFi, 13% had touch-screens and 38% had GPS. [Press release]

Orange launches laptop-and-broadband deal

Orange has launched its ‘connected’ product range with a deal that combines mobile broadband with a laptop on a monthly contract. The offer, which will be available online and from Orange shops, adds an Asus Eee PC900 laptop and 3G dongle to the Orange 'Internet Everywhere' mobile broadband service for £25 a month on a two-year contract. The Carphone Warehouse and 3 are already offering similar deals. [Press release]

UK's mobile networks owe BT millions

The Competition Appeal Tribunal says BT is owed millions of pounds by Britain's mobile phone networks. It says BT was overcharged by the mobile networks when its customers called mobile phones from a fixed-line phone. The ruling dates back to 2006 but could also affect the tribunal's current investigation into mobile termination charges. [Source: Guardian.co.uk]

Vodafone price rise criticised

Vodafone has been criticised by the National Consumer Council for raising some of its prices without making the price rise clearer. Pay Monthly customers received a new price list with last month's bill although there was no explicit mention of an increase. Minimum call charges are going up by 25% from September and calls to 0800 and 0845 numbers will be rising by more than 30%. The cost for most UK calls to landlines and mobiles is unchanged. Some of the UK's other networks raised their charges earlier this year. [Source: BBC.co.uk]

T-Mobile to launch HTC Android phone in October?

The New York Times says T-Mobile will be the first network to launch a phone that uses Google's Android operating system. The phone - an HTC model - is expected to go on sale in the USA before Christmas, perhaps as early as October.

O2 continues Rugby sponsorship

O2 has extended its sponsorship of English Rugby for a further four years until the end of August 2012. The deal, which will cost £4 million per season, covers all England’s fifteen-a-side men’s teams including the Senior 'Saxons' team as well as the U20s, U18s and U16s. O2 says it's also considering sponsorship of the England women’s rugby team. [Press release]

JAG's takeover of Go Mobile collapses

JAG's anticipated purchase of Go Mobile's retail business has collapsed after JAG MD John George and Go Mobile MD Iain Humphrey were unable to agree a price. A number of Go Mobile stores had already been rebranded as JAG. Iain Humphrey had planned to concentrate on his distribution business and EPOS system. We interviewed John George for the Mobile News podcast in November 2007; you can hear the broadcast here. [Source: Mobile News]

118 118 considers mobile directory enquiries

The Number UK Ltd, which runs the 118118 Directory Enquiry service, is said to be considering the inclusion of mobile phone numbers in its directory. It also says it is aware of privacy concerns and is seeing what customers think about this kind of service. This would not the first mobile phone directory enquiry service: Mobile118.co.uk already offers an online service. [Source: MarketingWeek.co.uk]

Ghana's parliament approves Vodafone deal

Ghana's parliament has approved Vodafone's plans to acquire a 70% stake in Ghana Telecom. The takeover plans have been controversial, with some politicians criticising the government for agreeing the original deal. Vodafone is paying £483 million for the 70% share. [Sources: Reuters.com; The StatesmanOnline.com]

New text service acquires 100,000 customers in 3 weeks

Money-saving text message service FishText.com says it's attracted more than 100,000 registered users since launching three weeks ago. The service uses a mobile data connection to send texts, costing 2p a text (plus data charges) for messages withn the UK. [Press release]

Bebo appoints head of mobile

Bebo, the San Francisco-based social media network with over 45 million users, has appointed Sean Kane to the new role of Global Head of Mobile. Mr Kane joins Bebo from Intercasting Corporation, having previously worked at Vivendi Universal and MP3.com. [Press release]

Twitter drops SMS alerts

Social networking site Twitter has stopped delivering updates by text message. The company has been paying for delivering updates itself and says the success of the service means it can no longer afford to keep paying. Quite simply, users who sent a single message to Twitter could have it forwarded to a number of users. Twitter has text deals with networks in Canada, India and the United States but doesn't yet have cost-effective relationships with networks in other countries. [Twitter blog]

US mobile advertising trails UK; both beaten by India

Mobile social community Limbo has released a report that shows a high percentage of mobile phone users in the US, UK and India are receiving advertising messages on their mobile phone. The figures were 85% in India, 51% in the UK and 37% in the USA. Text messaging is the most common advertising format: 74% in India, 48% in the UK and 22% in the USA. The UK led mobile web advertising at 16%, while nearly 40% of Indians said they remembered hearing advertisements through the radio on their mobile phones. [Press release]

Best Buy to sell 3G iPhone in USA

Best Buy, which recently joined forces with The Carphone Warehouse, says it'll soon be selling the Apple iPhone 3G in the USA. Currently the device is only available from AT&T and Apple in the United States. [Press release]

India plans new rules for mobile phone purchase

Indians may soon need to get 'references' from two existing mobile phone customers if they want a new connection. The Economic Times reports that the Ministry of Home Affairs is likely to advise the country's Department of Telecommunication to implement the new rules in an attempt to improve security and reduce criminal activity. New customers may also be photographed by the retailer. [Source: Economic Times]

Vodafone to open 50 new shops

Vodafone says it'll open 50 new shops in the coming financial year, taking its UK total to 400. The first new shops will open in Bristol, London and Liverpool, with most of the others ready by Spring next year. This follows the company's March announcement that it was cutting management jobs and creating new retail positions. [Press release]

We're communicating more but paying less

Ofcom's Communications Market Report 2008 reveals that consumers are spending more time using communications services than in previous years but are paying less for them. 86% of UK adults now own a mobile phone, making 99 billion minutes of outbound calls in 2007 – a rise of 91% in the number of minutes and 48% in the number of connections since 2002. Around 6% of UK internet users aged 16 or over (around 4% of all over 16s) are using mobile broadband. 44% of UK adults use text messaging every day, compared to 36% who regularly use the internet. At the other end of the scale, 25% of adults never use text messaging and 28% never use the internet. [Ofcom report]

New Mobile News podcast available online

This week's Mobile News podcast is back to its usual format. We catch up on news headlines from the last couple of weeks and also take a look at the new Sony Ericsson T700, the successor to the iconic T610. As always, the broadcast can be found at TheFonecast.com, on the Mobile News website, via iTunes or on our RSS feed. You can also still find our essential "top ten roaming tips" podcast at our website.

Almost half of young US drivers are using mobiles

Nearly half of young drivers have sent a text message, instant message or e-mail while driving, according to a new survey by legal information website FindLaw.com. 48% of drivers aged 18 to 24 and 27% of drivers aged 25 to 34, admit to messaging while behind the wheel. Overall, 17% of all adults surveyed said they'd texted while driving. [Source: MarketWatch.com]

Java security flaw on Nokia Series 40 phones?

Security Explorations, a new security research company based in Poland, says it's found two security problems in the mobile Java technology used by Nokia in its Series 40 devices. This covers over 140 handset models. The security flaw apparently lets hackers install malicious programs on a mobile phone without the customer being aware. These could send messages, make calls and give access to any information stored on the phone. The company has not published full details online but is selling a technical report to interested parties. [Press release]

40 million femtocells in 2013

Informa Telecoms & Media says there'll be over 40 milion femtocells worldwide by the end of 2013, with 22 million added during 2013. As a result, up to 8% of total mobile traffic could be travelling via customers' own fixed-line connections - and networks could save $5.3bn or more in infrastructure costs. [Source: Telecoms.com]

Targeted ads on Mobile TV

Packet Vision and Udcast say they've developed the world's first targeted television advertising service for mobile TV. They plan to demonstrate it during the IBC broadcasting industry event in September. [Press release]

Mobile phone sales to grow 11% in 2008

Worldwide mobile phone sales are expected to increase 11% in 2008, reaching 1.28 billion units, according to figures from researchers at Gartner. Mobile phone sales in Western Europe are forecast to reach 188 million units, up 1.5%, compared with the Asia/Pacific region where sales are predicted to reach 472.5 million in 2008, a 17.9% increase from 2007. Japan is expected to experience a drop in sales of 9.1%. [Press release]

Over 2 billion mobile shoppers by 2013

More than 2 billion mobile phone users will have bought digital goods with their phones by 2013, according to analysts at Juniper Research. 2.1 billion people worldwide will have paid by mobile for something downloaded to their phone in the next five years, covering anything from ringtones to tickets. Users are expected to make at least two payment transactions per month for digital goods by 2013, with Western Europe, the Far East and China accounting for over 50% of the total digital goods transaction market. Typical transaction sizes will be between $3 and $5. [Press release]

Carphone Warehouse considering new commission plan

Carphone Warehouse staff may swap commission for a profit-sharing scheme, depending on the results of a trial in the London area. [Source: Mobile News]

O2 launches new mobile music service

Hot on the heels of Vodafone, O2 has launched a mobile music service in partnership with Sony called My Play. Individual tracks are 99p, music videos are £1.50 and ringtones are £3.50. Yes, £3.50 each. [Press release]

Vodafone launches new music service

Vodafone has launched Vodafone Music, less than a year after announcing a partnership with Omnifone's unlimited MusicStation service. Vodafone Music lets customers buy music from their mobile device and download the tracks directly to the phone. The average price for a single is 99p, with albums priced at £7.99. [Press release]

35% of Brits use their mobile on the toilet

A survey from digital consumer magazine igizmomag.co.uk has highlighted some odd behaviour when using mobile phones. The survey of nearly 10,000 consumers aged 16 - 45 found that over a third had chatted to friends on a mobile whilst on the toilet, 2% of mobile users have chatted whilst at a funeral and 1.2% had held a mobile conversation whilst having sex. Not surprisingly, 20% of people had been told by friends, family or colleagues that they used their mobile too much. [Press release]

Ikea launches mobile network

Ikea, best known for its self-assembly home furnishings, is launching Family Mobile - a virtual mobile network in the UK. The network will be sold as SIM-only and connects to the T-Mobile network. It'll be part of the Ikea Family loyalty programme, which gives it 1.4 million prospective customers. Ikea says the network will offer the UK’s lowest priced pay-as-you-go service, with calls at 9p per minute and texts costing 6p each. [Press release]

New head for Motorola's mobile division

Dr Sanjay Jha has been appointed as CEO of Motorola's mobile devices division. He'll also be co-CEO of Motorola with Greg Brown, who's been running the company since December last year. Mr Jha was Chief Operating Officer at Qualcomm until his move. [Press release]

iPhone Nano for Christmas?

The Mail on Sunday says there'll be a 'nano' - presumably smaller - version of the Apple iPhone available in time for Christmas, costing up to £150 on a prepay tariff.

Vodafone top-up boycott ends

The organiser of a campaign to boycott Vodafone after the network cut the amount of commission it paid for top-ups has ended his protest. Kevin Hunt said he was disappointed he hadn't managed to change Vodafone's opinion but he didn't want to continue inconveniencing his customers. He said some retailers were considering a surcharge for Vodafone top-ups but his business wouldn't be charging any extra. [Source: Mobile News]

O2 connections held up for 5 days

O2 dealers were unable to connect new customers for 5 days last week when the network was upgrading its billing system. The upgrade started on 6th August and ended on Sunday 10th. Dealers were advised not to process new connections, upgrades or tariff changes during the five-day period. [Source: Mobile News]

Ofcom publishes recommendations to protect under-18s from adult material on mobiles

Ofcom has published recommendations for the Mobile Broadband Group to consider when restricting mobile access to adult material for anyone who could not prove they were over 18. The regulator says the current Mobile Broadband Group UK Code of Practice works well, although it pointed out that only 15% of adults who used a mobile and who had a child in their household were aware of the current age verification systems. [Ofcom review; MBG pdf document]

MMS problem for T-Mobile

We're back from our break, so it's time to start catching up with the news. Here's a story from last week: up to 60% of T-Mobile picture messages haven't been sent because of a problem with the UK network... although re-sending the message may be successful. [Source: Mobile News]

Mobile messaging spending to keep growing

The total spending on mobile messaging services by consumers will rise 35% in the next five years, from $65 billion in 2007 to over $88 billion by 2012. Text messages will still account for most of the spending, although - by 2012 - mobile email will account for 20% of total end-user mobile messaging spending. The figures come from a new report published by Strategy Analytics.

New podcast: top ten tips for taking your mobile abroad

This week we've recorded a special Mobile News podcast for the summer holidays. We've included advice about 'roaming' charges, Voicemail use, top-up services, prepay SIMs and loads of other useful guidance. Download it and discover our top ten tips for taking your phone abroad: essential information whether you're advising customers or planning your own escape! As always, the broadcast can be found at TheFonecast.com, on the Mobile News website, via iTunes or on our RSS feed.

Special 'holiday' podcast coming soon

This week we're taking a break from our regular podcast format. We're also taking a short break from updating the headlines here on our blog; normal service will be resumed next Monday. Meanwhile, last week's podcast is still online... and watch out for our new podcast on Wednesday, which includes our top ten tips for using your mobile phone abroad.

Clawback protection from T-Mobile?

Here's a topic we touched on in our podcast this week. T-Mobile is said to be considering a trial of a new clawback protection procedure for dealers. It would reduce the risk of dealers having to repay commission when a customer defaults on the mobile phone bill. T-Mobile will apparently require participating dealers to take a deposit from the customer or to match their address with their payment details. [Source: Mobile News]