'Carphone Warehouse to grow Talkmobile with new appointments'

Carphone Warehouse is set to expand its Talkmobile MVNO business unit with a new appointment, in a move that will strengthen its relationship with partner Vodafone UK, Mobile Today reported. Paul Layte, who was previously commercial director, is now heading up Carphone's UK MVNO in place of former managing director Philip Macridis. Nick Willco, Best Buy Europe commercial finance director, has taken executive responsibility for the business unit. Meanwhile, Carphone will close its Fresh and MobileWorld MVNOs to new customers, as it starts to pull away from its partnership with T-Mobile, which operates the two units. A Carphone spokesman confirmed that Carphone Warehouse will continue to serve customers on both Fresh and MobileWorld MVNOs which it operates with T-Mobile in the UK, but that these products are now closed to new customers. "Both products have been replaced under the Talkmobile brand which Carphone Warehouse fully intends on growing in the near future," the spokesman said. Carphone's MobileWorld MVNO on T-Mobile's network, offering low-cost overseas calls, was launched in 2005 but has petered out despite latent demand, demonstrated by new arrivals Lebara Mobile and Lyca taking the market by storm.

Distributed for DMeurope.com via M2 Communications (www.m2.com)

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