The Mobile Operators Association is paying for a meeting with science minister Lord Sainsbury
From: Eileen O'Connor
Subject: Eye, Eye
Date: Mon, Sep 19, 2005, 9:38 AM
Private Eye, 16 Sept. 05 HP Sauce, Conference Special,
The Social Market Foundation (SMF) has published its list of corporate sponsored fringe meetings at the upcoming Labour party conference in Brighton - and it will be business as usual at a string of wine-and-policy meetings with ministers.
The Mobile Operators Association is paying for a meeting with science minister Lord Sainsbury, where its director Mike Dolan will join a platform discussion on health scares in the media. Buoyed by recent studies showing no link between mobile phones and cancer, the phone firms want government backing against planning objections to new mobile masts.
Mobile company '3' meanwhile is sponsoring a meeting with culture secretary Tessa Jowell, Burnley MP and former special adviser to Patricia Hewitt Kitty Usher and Roy Hattersley.
Though the mobile firms are cuddling up to Labour, they aren't always so friendly. Collectively they currently have a claim working its way through the European Courts demanding a £3billion VAT rebate from Chancellor Gordon Brown for the 3G phone licences they bought from him.
The other way they hope to recoup some of the cash they paid for the new 'picture phones' licences is - porn.
For example, 3 sell its phones by advertising a 'top shelf' service which includes "slide shows and videos, from Playboy, Mayfair, Escort, Men Only, Club International, and Men's World" on your handset. (hands free operation optional)...(article continues with other big biz. chums of New Labour)
--------
I was just looking at my friend's yesterdays Daily Mail and there was an article about children looking at porn on their mobiles at school and passing it arouond the classroom. Some companies have a block that only the parents can remove but O2 do no and said they do not see it as a problem [well they would not would they.] The expected revenue from the porn on phones over the years is expected to be a nice little earner for the phone companies, millions and millions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sue g
--------
That, and gambling, will be needed to kick start the revenues.
Today's Independent carried this:
"Gambling by mobile phones is booming"
Martin Hickman
Gambling by mobile phone has rocketed, with the number of betting pages downloaded expected to approach 3 million this year; a rise of 367 per cent in 2004.
The conclusion of research by Mintel has sparked concern that the almost unlimited access to gambling provided by mobile phones will fuel a rise in adiction. Another potential problem is children gambling by phone.
Overall the researchers estimated mobile phones would receive 30 million downloads this year - a 25-fold rise.
etc.."
And don't forget that 3G phones will become the target of marketeers: once you let yourself be "registered" for anything you could open the floodgates to phone spam. Phones are not just for the caller, or for talking; they are for persuading and selling: anything. And what is the majority of email spam about??
Bad news.
Andy
--------
From Karen Barratt
The Yvette Cooper story was supplied to Private Eye by Mast Sanity. They carried our original Keith Hill story too:
WHAT is it with planning ministers and anti-mobile phone mast campaigns? Back in Eye 1129 it was Keith Hill MP, then minister for planning, merrily campaigning against a giant mobile phone mast near a park in his Lambeth constituency - after spending months staunchly defending his department's unwillingness to tackle the feeble planning laws applying to masts. Now the current planning minister Yvette Cooper is tangling with Vodafone over plans for a 28ft mast on a housing estate in her Pontefract and Castleford constituency, where the company wanted to talk to objectors individually rather than face them at a public meeting. Back in July she told the Commons that on the matter of mobile phone masts: "Parliament has given local planning authorities the responsibility for development control in their areas. The secretary of state does not seek to interfere with the jurisdiction of local planning authorities unless it is necessary to do so." Yet there she was backing the 500 objectors to the mast, writing to Vodafone to insist on it consulting residents properly and telling the local press that she was "appalled" by the company's behaviour. Cooper's department recently commissioned Arup to find out whether mobile phone companies are obeying the voluntary commitments they made to things like, er, public consultation meetings. Looks like she has her answer...
Subject: Eye, Eye
Date: Mon, Sep 19, 2005, 9:38 AM
Private Eye, 16 Sept. 05 HP Sauce, Conference Special,
The Social Market Foundation (SMF) has published its list of corporate sponsored fringe meetings at the upcoming Labour party conference in Brighton - and it will be business as usual at a string of wine-and-policy meetings with ministers.
The Mobile Operators Association is paying for a meeting with science minister Lord Sainsbury, where its director Mike Dolan will join a platform discussion on health scares in the media. Buoyed by recent studies showing no link between mobile phones and cancer, the phone firms want government backing against planning objections to new mobile masts.
Mobile company '3' meanwhile is sponsoring a meeting with culture secretary Tessa Jowell, Burnley MP and former special adviser to Patricia Hewitt Kitty Usher and Roy Hattersley.
Though the mobile firms are cuddling up to Labour, they aren't always so friendly. Collectively they currently have a claim working its way through the European Courts demanding a £3billion VAT rebate from Chancellor Gordon Brown for the 3G phone licences they bought from him.
The other way they hope to recoup some of the cash they paid for the new 'picture phones' licences is - porn.
For example, 3 sell its phones by advertising a 'top shelf' service which includes "slide shows and videos, from Playboy, Mayfair, Escort, Men Only, Club International, and Men's World" on your handset. (hands free operation optional)...(article continues with other big biz. chums of New Labour)
--------
I was just looking at my friend's yesterdays Daily Mail and there was an article about children looking at porn on their mobiles at school and passing it arouond the classroom. Some companies have a block that only the parents can remove but O2 do no and said they do not see it as a problem [well they would not would they.] The expected revenue from the porn on phones over the years is expected to be a nice little earner for the phone companies, millions and millions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sue g
--------
That, and gambling, will be needed to kick start the revenues.
Today's Independent carried this:
"Gambling by mobile phones is booming"
Martin Hickman
Gambling by mobile phone has rocketed, with the number of betting pages downloaded expected to approach 3 million this year; a rise of 367 per cent in 2004.
The conclusion of research by Mintel has sparked concern that the almost unlimited access to gambling provided by mobile phones will fuel a rise in adiction. Another potential problem is children gambling by phone.
Overall the researchers estimated mobile phones would receive 30 million downloads this year - a 25-fold rise.
etc.."
And don't forget that 3G phones will become the target of marketeers: once you let yourself be "registered" for anything you could open the floodgates to phone spam. Phones are not just for the caller, or for talking; they are for persuading and selling: anything. And what is the majority of email spam about??
Bad news.
Andy
--------
From Karen Barratt
The Yvette Cooper story was supplied to Private Eye by Mast Sanity. They carried our original Keith Hill story too:
WHAT is it with planning ministers and anti-mobile phone mast campaigns? Back in Eye 1129 it was Keith Hill MP, then minister for planning, merrily campaigning against a giant mobile phone mast near a park in his Lambeth constituency - after spending months staunchly defending his department's unwillingness to tackle the feeble planning laws applying to masts. Now the current planning minister Yvette Cooper is tangling with Vodafone over plans for a 28ft mast on a housing estate in her Pontefract and Castleford constituency, where the company wanted to talk to objectors individually rather than face them at a public meeting. Back in July she told the Commons that on the matter of mobile phone masts: "Parliament has given local planning authorities the responsibility for development control in their areas. The secretary of state does not seek to interfere with the jurisdiction of local planning authorities unless it is necessary to do so." Yet there she was backing the 500 objectors to the mast, writing to Vodafone to insist on it consulting residents properly and telling the local press that she was "appalled" by the company's behaviour. Cooper's department recently commissioned Arup to find out whether mobile phone companies are obeying the voluntary commitments they made to things like, er, public consultation meetings. Looks like she has her answer...
Starmail - 20. Sep, 17:21
