New Year's Eve texting

O2 and Vodafone have both released their 'New Year' text figures for the UK - and they're pretty evenly matched. O2 says a record 166 million messages were sent over its network in the 24-hour period ending at 7.30 am on New Year’s Day 2009, while Vodafone says nearly 170 million text messages were sent over its network during a similar 24-hour period. Vodafone added that its customers also sent 1 million picture messages on Christmas Day. [Sources: 160characters.org; MobileIndustryReview.com]

O2 to scrap "rules of engagement" blocking dealer upgrades

It's reported that O2 is going to scrap its "rules of engagement" from 5th January 2009. The rules, which have been applied in various forms since October, stopped dealers from upgrading O2 customers. [Source: Mobile News issue 428]

O2 launches universal energy-saving charger

Hot on the heels of the recent cross-manufacturer charger rating system, O2 says it's become the first UK network to launch an energy-efficient universal mobile phone charger. The £14.99 O2 Universal Charger claims to cut energy consumption by as much as 70% compared to standard mobile phone chargers by reducing charge to the mobile phone once the battery is fully charged - even if the charger is left switched on in a plug socket. The company says the energy saved by all phones using the O2 Universal Charger would be enough to make over 7 billion cups of tea - the equivalent of £31 million - or, from an environmental perspective, could save the equivalent carbon emissions of over 36,000 cars per annum. Mind you, at the moment it'll only work with Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson devices. And the cost of buying universal chargers for all of the estimated 73 million mobiles in the UK would be £1.094 billion. [Press release]

O2 cuts mobile broadband prices for prepay users

O2 has priced its new prepay USB broadband modem at £29.99, with data charges starting at £2 a day for 500MB, rising to £7.50 a week for 1GB or £15 a month for 3GB. It's describing it as the "UK’s leading priced mobile broadband Pay & Go service". The deal also includes unlimited access to over 6,000 WiFi hotspots across the UK through The Cloud. [Press release]

O2's parent publishes Q3 results

Telefónica, which owns O2 in the UK, says its profits for the third quarter of 2008 were down 50% year-on-year... although it's worth noting that last year's figure included the sale of television company Endemol. In the UK, O2's revenue was up 8.7% and a record-breaking 277,593 'contract' customers had been added. [Sources: Telefonica press release; FT.com; Bloomberg.com]

10% of mobile broadband customers say they were mis-sold

In the week that Vodafone was criticised by the ASA for its "light years ahead" mobile broadband advertisement and 3 admitted problems with its mobile broadband service, O2 has published research that says over one in ten mobile broadband users feel that they were mis-sold. The main source of irritation is the cost of the service, with nearly a third complaining that the ongoing cost was higher than expected. One-fifth were upset that they were unable to use mobile broadband where they wanted it despite being told that there would be coverage - and 13 per cent were frustrated there was no returns guarantee if the service wasn’t right for them. Needless to say there's a sales message in here. O2 has revamped its mobile broadband offering by cutting costs, creating a new coverage checker and offering a 50-day Happiness Guarantee. [Press release]

Budgets for mobile marketing to grow 150% in 5 years

A report from O2 says the amount of money spent on mobile marketing is expected to increase by over 150% by 2013. 85% of respondents said that mobile marketing generated a higher response than traditional methods. [Source: NMA.co.uk]

New quarterly industry figures from Ofcom

Another quarter, another batch of UK statistics from regulator Ofcom. Apparently revenue across Vodafone, O2, Orange and T-Mobile fell by 1.6% in Q1 2008, with call volumes dropping slightly (0.23%) and messaging volumes increasing by 8%. Customers with 'pay monthly' constracts increased by 1.9% - a trend that's happened since the beginning of 2006. 'Contract' customers now account for 36% of all mobile subscribers, compared to 32% in Q1 2006. [Press release]

Almost 20% of mobile revenue is from data

Almost 20% of worldwide mobile operator revenue comes from data, according to a report from Chetan Sharma Consulting - with some major operators receiving 40% of their revenue from data. The USA is now leads the world's most lucrative mobile data market, having pushed Japan into second place this year. Its operators are earning $17.5 billion in total data revenue, although Japan has the highest-earning individual operator: NTT DoCoMo has made $6.8 billion in data revenue during the first six months of 2008. The UK's O2 network is number 9 in the world. [Source: FierceWireless.com]

O2 reviewing dealer commission

O2 is changing the way it pays commission to its business dealers next month, paying them a monthly share of revenue instead of commission when the customer connects. The move could see dealers earning more in the long term, although the lack of an initial subsidy may affect handset prices and connection incentives. [Source: Mobile News]

Voice Short Codes available on all UK networks

Voice 'short codes' will be available across all the UK's mobile networks from October, according to telecomms platform provider MX Telecom. These codes operate in a similar way to text codes, enabling customers to call companies or enter competitions by using a short codes instead of a conventional telephone number. They've been available for a while by connecting on a 'per network' basis. O2 is the last UK network to implement the cross-network deal. [Press release]

O2 to ditch 12-month contracts

O2 is dropping 12-month contracts for new 'pay monthly' customers and is insisting on a minimum term of 18 months. This reflects a general move in the UK mobile industry, with 84%of July 2008 contracts being 18-month deals. [Source: FierceWireless.com]

Best Buy for Napster

US electronics company Best Buy, which announced a partnership with The Carphone Warehouse earlier this year, says it's agreed to buy digital music company Napster for $121 million. Napster currently has a mobile service in the USA, a deal with O2 in the UK and works with other mobile companies worldwide. [Press release]

O2 to offer mobile coverage on Glasgow subway

O2 customers will be able to make and receive calls on Glasgow's underground railway system later this year. Coverage will be available in five Glasgow Subway stations - Buchanan Street, St Enoch, Kelvinbridge, Hillhead and Partick - from December. Customers will also have access to other mobile services, including text messages, 3G video calls and internet access. In addition, WiFi coverage could be offered in the future. It's a story we first mentioned earlier this year. [Press release]

78% of us want to pay by phone

The O2 Wallet trial, which we mentioned in our podcast on 6th December, has revealed that nine out of ten trialists were happy using Near Field Communications (NFC) technology on a mobile phone - and 78% would be interested in using contactless services if they were available. Interest in combining the London Transport Oyster card with a mobile phone was particularly high, with 89% of trialists saying they were interested. The trial, which ran for 6 months with 500 London triallists, combined a Nokia 6131 mobile phone with Oyster and credit cards. [Press release]

Prepay 3G iPhone launch confirmed

O2 has announced that the 3G iPhone will be available on a prepay tariff from 16th September. The 8GB model will be £349.99 and the 16GB will be £399.99. It’ll be available from O2 stores, The Carphone Warehouse and Apple stores. The price includes unlimited web browsing and WiFi for the first 12 months, with additional use charged at £10 per month. [Source: Mobile News]

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]

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]

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]

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]