Many of us first heard of "The Business" weekly because of an article awhile back by it's technology editor Tony Glover titled Cisco tipped to expand with Nokia takeover.
This turned out to be utter bull, but it did provoke discussion, including reports by Reuters and Yahoo (now unavailable). The reason this "news" gained more traction than the same speculation published in a gormless blog (we think) is that "The Business" is a real newspaper, and real newspapers generally have real journalists, who do not put anything in print without a solid source or two: or at least make sure that unsubstantiated "news" is clearly marked as speculation.
Enter the latest Tony Glover story. Quoting the same "source" as in the Nokia + Cisco story, Keith Woolcock from Westhall Capital, Tony has titled this new article "BT dials up free mobile phone calls service" and has even offered pricing details of the service, even though the article, halfway through, concedes that "When contacted by The Business last week, BT said nothing." There's nothing else in the article which suggests that the entire thing is mostly speculation.
We don't believe them at all - even though such a move by BT would make sense - because WiFi phones are not out yet. It's too soon to announce. There is no logic in announcing a service a half-year before devices are widely available which can use the service; it merely gives your competitors lead time.
This posting is also to make sure that you are aware of the track record of "The Business" for technology news. It's not pretty.
