Ofcom extends mis-selling rules to LLU services

Ofcom has announced that its rules protecting consumers from the mis-selling of fixed-line voice call services will now also cover providers that offer voice and broadband services using full local loop unbundling (LLU) technology. These rules cover sales and marketing activities deemed inappropriate by the industry regulator, including 'slamming', where customers can be switched from one company to another without their express knowledge and consent. Since May 2005 a new General Condition of Entitlement has required providers of fixed-line voice call services to establish then comply with a code of practice for sales and marketing in accordance with Ofcom's guidelines. ...more

Apple to patent athletic iPod tech

For any athletic avante-garde jazz fans that struggle with matching a 13:7 beat on a three-mile jog, Apple may have the answer. According to patent number 20060107822, for which Apple Computer has applied, a handheld device - read iPod - would contain technology able to monitor a user's body motion or heart rate rhythms and pick out music with an appropriate tempo. Alternatively, your iPod could even control the tempo of the music, ensuring that all the music you listen to while exercising plays at the same pace. ...more

Watchdog sets out position on Net phone industry boom

Ofcom has set out its response to the growth of voice over IP (VoIP) telephone services and specifically voice over broadband (VoB). The telecoms regulator believes that the emergence of these services will offer important benefits to consumers. Call costs should reduce significantly; where a call connects from one VoB service to another, the only cost to the consumer is typically a standard monthly fee, regardless as to whether the call is to the next town or to the other side of the world. ...more

Motorola moves away from Symbian

Motorola is to transfer its shares in mobile platform provider Symbian to Psion and Nokia, leaving each with a more than 30 per cent interest. Pertti Korhonen, executive vice president, Nokia Mobile Software, said: 'The investment shows Nokia's continued support to Symbian as a strong independent software licensing company and to its stable development as smart phones move towards the volume market.' Nokia's Series 60 operating system for mobile phones is based on the Symbian platform and is licensed by a number of major handset manufacturers. ...more

Mobile Phone penetration to exceed 100 per cent in Europe

The mobile phone market in Western Europe is already beyond saturation in some countries according to a new survey by market research company Analysys. Italy, Sweden and the UK have already seen their market penetration exceed 100 per cent in 2004 and the rest of the continent is likely to follow suit by 2007. However, rather than indicating that more than all of us have a mobile phone, the apparent statistical anomaly is due to many people buying multiple phones or SIM cards. ...more