Competition searches for 'best text message'

Mobile application blog SMS is the new Black is running a competition to find the best text message sent or received in January 2009. It's an entertaining promotional exercise... and it'll be interesting to see the results. [Press release]

UK mobile termination rates likely to fall

The Competition Commission has told O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone that their mobile termination rates should be cut to 4p per minute for April 2010, which is 1.1p per minute more than Ofcom's original proposal. The decision stems from Ofcom's change to mobile phone termination charges in 2007. The recommendations have been passed to the Competition Appeals Tribunal, which meets next month. [Competition Appeal Tribunal; Press release (pdf)]

UK Porting group suspends operations

UKPorting, the UK telecommunications industry group that was working to speed up the transfer of mobile phone numbers between networks, has decided to suspend its operations. The decision follows last week's judgement by the Competition Appeal Tribunal that said regulator Ofcom hadn't taken enough care with its proposals. Ofcom says it's disappointed with UKPorting's decision, which was taken after at least one of the networks involved decided to withdraw from the group. [Source: ZDNet.co.uk]

Ofcom's number porting plan defeated... for now

Vodafone has won a court case against telecomms regulator Ofcom. The Competition Appeals Tribunal has said that Ofcom must reconsider its decision to introduce a two-hour Mobile Number Portability limit next year. The CAT ruled that insufficient analysis and consultation had taken place, cost estimates were inaccurate and the benefit to customers had not been sufficiently demonstrated. Ofcom says it won't be deterred, although the proposed September 2009 date may now slip. [Sources: Mobile News; CAT pdf document]

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]

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]

Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy merger is OK with OFT

The Office of Fair Trading has said it won't be refering the Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy joint venture to the Competition Commission because there's currently no overlap in the UK between Best Buy and the proposed merged business. [Carphone Warehouse press release; OFT decision]

Sony Ericsson launches mobile phone camera competition

Sony Ericsson has launched its third World View photography competition, which is open to anyone with a camera phone. The competition, which has a first prize of a £10,000 trip, ends on 31st October 2008.

3 taking rivals to court

3 is taking Vodafone, O2, Orange and T-Mobile to the High Court this week, claiming its rivals have colluded to dissuade potential new customers from transferring their numbers. 3 is currently the UK’s 5^th largest network, with around 7% of the national subscriber base. It is suing for up to £250 million, although there are suggestions it has little proof and is ‘fishing’ for information. [Source: TimesOnline.co.uk]