Rergulated ringtones resonate with disgusted mobile customers

Clean up your act

And and Dec style text messaging competitions have left a nasty taste with consumers

A consumer watchdog has called for standards in the mobile phone services industry. About time too, we say.

Choice, the Australian consumer watchdog, has demanded an industry code of practice for mobile indsutry's premium services.

As well as ring tone regulation, they want horoscopes, wallpapers and all other income streams to be scrutininsed.

The scheme could have particular resonance in Britan, where a series of text message based scams have generated a degree of bad feeling towards the mobile industry.

Choice accused the phone industry of uing worst practices that frustrate consumers with dodgy contracts and hard-to-read misleading fine print.

In a survey conducted recently by the consumer group, half of the 431 people surveyed received one or more unsolicited messages and two thirds were charged for them.