Phil Jordan has joined O2 in the new role of UK Chief Information Officer. He reports to UK Chief Technology Officer Derek McManus.

Most recently, Phil was Vodafone's CIO for the UK and Ireland, having been with the company for 12 years.

A new research report from analyst firm Berg Insight calculates that the number of smart electricity meters installed in Europe will reach 111.4 million at the end of 2015. That's a compound annual growth rate of 17.9% from 2009.

The report identifies France, Spain and the UK as the next countries in Europe where smart metering will become introduced.

Last November, T-Mobile confirmed it had been working with the UK government's Information Commissioner’s Office following suspicions that employees had been selling customer data.

The Register now reports that former T-Mobile employee David Turley has pleaded guilty to 18 charges under section 55 of the Data Protection Act. He hasn't been sentenced yet.

CTIA The Wireless Association – one of the wireless communication industry's international trade bodies – has filed a lawsuit against the city of San Francisco. It's unhappy with the new so-called "Cell Phone Right-to-Know" ruling, which insists that retailers publish Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) figures for the mobile phones they sell.

Vodafone has agreed to pay £1.25 billion to HM Revenue & Customs, settling a tax dispute that dates back ten years. The dispute arose with Vodafone's Luxembourg business and HMRC's Controlled Foreign Companies (CFC) rules, which were intended to prevent UK businesses from setting up foreign businesses to avoid UK tax.

Vodafone will pay £800 million in the current financial year; the rest of the tax bill will be paid in instalments over the next five years. Vodafone had already set aside £2.2 billion after losing a Court of Appeal case last year.