Mark Bridge writes:

Some parts of the mobile industry have more glamour than others. New handsets often attract celebrity endorsements, while behind-the-scenes technology rarely hits the mainstream headlines unless it goes wrong.

One of the areas most under pressure at the moment is 'backhaul'; essentially the connection between a cell site and the rest of the mobile network.

Gaby Junowicz, vice president of Marketing and Business Development at Siklu Communication, talks about the problems facing mobile backhaul - from capacity to interference - and explains how E-band technology can offer a practical and cost-effective solution.

Google is the latest company to confirm its plans to launch a 'mobile wallet'.

It's been demonstrating the Google Wallet application today and says this'll be launched to consumers in the summer on the Nexus S 4G in the USA. The app has been developed in partnership with Citi, MasterCard, First Data and Sprint.

O2 has published the latest scores from its Eco rating scheme. Nokia's C6-01 and E7-00 topped the list, both scoring 4.1 out of 5, followed by the Samsung Galaxy Mini, the Sony Ericsson X8 and the Nokia C7-02 - all with 4 points.

The Eco ratings were launched in August last year as part of O2's Think Big sustainability programme.

24-hour news network CNN has announced a partnership with Nokia. It started when Nokia's 3D Maps were used by CNN for its recent coverage of the Royal Wedding and will see Nokia formally becoming one of the mapping services used by CNN.

The collaboration also involves a CNN App for Nokia, which provides access to online reports, streaming video and the CNN iReport community.