Mark Bridge writes

Ah, the joys of multiplying by zero. I was reminded of my school maths lessons when I saw a news release from Orange UK this week.

Steve Wallage, Head of Sport Partnerships and Services for Orange UK was quoted as saying “Based on the surge in demand for mobile TV during the Ashes last summer, we expect viewing figures could rocket by at least 74% during the World Cup”.

O2 UK is the latest mobile network operator to remove 'unlimited' mobile data for new customers. Although existing customers won't be affected, any new or upgrading customers will have a fixed data allowance on their tariff and will need to choose a 'Bolt On' allowance if they want to exceed this. The new tariffs will be introduced from 24th June – when the iPhone 4 launches – although unlimited data will be available as a promotion until 1st October 2010.

The company says current usage patterns show that 97% of O2 customers would not need to buy additional data allowances as the lowest bundle (500MB) provides at least 2.5 times the average O2 customer's use.

Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, has urged mobile phone operators to raise parents' awareness of the potential risks faced by children who use smartphones, such as access to 'adult' content.

While welcoming the progress made by operators on their work to keep children safe while using mobile phones, she warned that parents were often "not as tuned into the latest developments in mobile phones as the younger generation".

Nokia Siemens Networks says it's been working to remove bottlenecks from O2’s mobile broadband coverage in London, helping the network meet the demands of its smartphone users.

By analysing the activity of smart devices on the O2 network and combining this with traffic growth forecasts, NSN says it's upgraded the network elements and modules identified as current and potential future bottlenecks. Adding new base stations to existing sites has helped O2 increase coverage and capacity while also conserving smartphone battery life.

US mobile operator Sprint says the HTC EVO 4G broke sales records when it went on sale last Friday, although it's not quoted any specific figures. It says Friday sales of the HTC EVO 4G, which includes 3G and 4G technology along with a 4.3-inch screen and 8 megapixel camera, were the largest quantity of a single phone model sold in one day ever for Sprint.