Mobile companies could keep 3G licences forever

The Sunday Times says mobile companies will be allowed to keep their 3G licences permanently if they commit to new broadband plans expected in the next few days from communications minister Lord Carter. He's expected to tell the UK telecomms industry that it needs to provide broadband service to every home in the country. The 3G licences cost a total of £22.5 billion in 2000 but are only valid for 20 years. [Source: TimesOnline.co.uk]

Mobile set-up too complicated for most users

A survey of mobile phone users in the UK and the USA says most people get annoyed when they set up a new handset. 85% of users said they were frustrated by the difficulty of getting a new phone working, with 61% saying it was as challenging as moving bank accounts. The survey, by mobile device management software company Mformation, also revealed that 95% of people said they would be more likely to use new features if the initial set-up was easier. Most people expected to take 15 minutes to set their phone up but found the actual time was around an hour. [Sources: BBC News; Computerworlduk.com]

5% of American mobile users watch video

Talking of mobile multimedia, a report from The Nielsen Company says 10.3 million Americans currently watch videos on their phone each month - that's 5% of all mobile customers (compared to 3% in the UK). The majority of users - 66% - say they watch their video through the web, rather than downloading clips to their phones. The Apple iPhone is the most popular phone for mobile video consumers, comedy is the most popular mobile video content and waiting for someone or something is the most popular occasion for video usage. [Report (pdf)]

UK mobile networks to cut jobs?

The Guardian says the mobile phone industry is likely to cut thousands of jobs in the UK during early 2009, blaming competition and the economic slowdown.

More mobile ads seen via WiFi

This story seems almost inevitable to me, although it's been covered in fairly excitable terms elsewhere. Mobile advertising company AdMob says 8% of all advertisements it delivered to UK mobile devices in November were served via WiFi rather than over a conventional mobile network. That's up from 4% in August, with over half of the ads coming from Apple iPhone users. It's a similar story in the USA. [AdMob report (pdf)]

Data costs holding back mobile content growth

The cost of using mobile data is holding back growth in the European content market, according to mobile transaction company mBlox. They say UK consumers face charges of up to £10 to download a single song and recommend that networks adopt a ‘sender pays' business model to include data costs with purchases from their own online stores. [Press release]

Ofcom says messaging revenue is falling as volume increases

Ofcom has just published its Telecommunications Market Data Update for the second quarter of 2008. It says the number of SMS and MMS messages sent was 4.8% higher than in the previous quarter. although messaging revenue fell by 1.7% over the same period. Total mobile revenue across the four mobile operators in the survey (Vodafone, O2, Orange and T-Mobile) increased by 1.2% compared to the previous quarter, driven by a 1.9% increase in revenue from calls and other charges. [Press release]

Mobile social networkers love their mobiles(!)

Social networking site itsmy.com has conducted a survey that shows how much its 2.5 million members rely on their mobiles (although it's only published results from its 15,000 most-active users worldwide). 95% from the USA and 96% from the UK use the mobile as main means of communication with loved ones... and the average user browses through 160 mobile internet pages per day. [Press release]

Mobile usage hasn't changed for 5 years

Research from connectivity specialist AppTrigger reveals that 57% of UK adults and 30% of North Americans say they've not changed the way in which they use mobiles since 2003. Voice calls and text messages are still the main applications. [Source: Cellular-News.com]

Mobile internet increasingly popular

Researchers at Nielsen say the number of British people accessing the internet via their mobile phones has increased 25% from Q2 to Q3 2008, rising from 5.8 million to 7.3 million. In contrast, PC-based internet use increased 3% from 34.3 million to 35.3 million. Google is the most popular PC-based web site, while the most popular mobile internet site is BBC News, with 1.7 million British visitors (24% of mobile internet consumers) every month. [Sources: PDF press release; Telecoms.com; TotalTele.com]

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]

Motorola UK boss leaves

Motorola UK General Manager Jim Michel is reported to have left the company following a restructure. [Source: Mobile News]

T-Mobile launches UK femtocell trial

T-Mobile is running a femtocell trial in the UK, Germany and Poland, according to a report on Unstrung.com.

Robber caught after swapping mobile with victim

A 21 year-old man has been jailed for six months after stealing a mobile phone and handing over his own phone as compensation. Eneas Tanyongana from Harlow was arrested within hours of his offence. He 'd robbed his 16-year-old victim on a train in Hertfordshire, threatening to stab him if he didn’t hand over his mobile phone. When the boy asked what he was supposed to do without a phone, Tanyongana handed over his own phone, complete with contact details and photos. Police investigators used the information contained in Tanyongana’s phone to identify and arrest him. The victim's phone was recovered and CCTV footage was used to link the attacker to two other robberies. [Press release]

UK now sending 6.5 billion texts per month

The Mobile Data Association has released its latest quarterly figures for UK mobile phones. In the third quarter of 2008 (July - September) it says usage for text and picture messages has continued increasing. Texting is up 38% year-on-year from Q3 2007, while MMS usage is up 20%. We're now sending an average 6.5 billion text messages sent per month - that's almost 217 million per day - and we're also sending an average of 1,495,525 multimedia messages every day. [Press release]

Prepay phones to lose anonymity

New legislation will require prepay phone owners in the UK to confirm their name and address when they buy a handset, according to a report in the Sunday Times. The Communications Data Bill, which will enable the government to track electronic communications in the UK, is expected to be announced next year. [Source: TimesOnline.co.uk]

Update: The Home Office and Vodafone have both denied the story, according to ZDNet.co.uk, which suggests it may have been a government 'leak' to gauge public reaction.

T-Mobile G1 to arrive in UK on 30th October

T-Mobile has said its exclusive Android-powered G1 smartphone will be available in the UK from Thursday 30th October, slightly earlier than previously suggested. 25,000 UK consumers have already pre-registered their interest in the device. [Press release]

Marketing man leaves T-Mobile

T-Mobile marketing director Phil Chapman is leaving the company next month. His job is losing its European focus to concentrate solely on the UK. Phil joined T-Mobile in January 2005 after a 23-year period working for Unilever. [Source: Mobile News]

Ofcom chairman gives final lecture

Ofcom chairman David Currie has given the organisation's 2008 lecture; his last before he leaves the organisation. He contrasted the current state of the market with Ofcom's first report from early 2004, when mobiles accounted for almost a quarter of voice calls and each person sent an average of one text message a day. Today, mobile calls account for 40% of voice minutes and text messaging has grown by 27% per year. [Ofcom Annual Lecture 2008]

Hutchison Whampoa to create own phones for 3

Hong Kong’s Hutchison Whampoa has announced the creation of a new division - INQ Mobile - that'll make phones for the company's 3G networks... and also for other operators The first device, currently known as the INQ1, will have prominent social networking features and will go on sale in the UK and Australia later this year. [Sources: WirelessWeek.com; Guardian.co.uk]