Urban myth revealed as worrying truth

So the channel urban myth that Nokia closes its factories to allow staff a long summer holiday has been put to bed.

It doesn't; it's just conspired with its network partners, and they with their distribution partners, to be a bit rubbish at getting kit to dealers.

And as far as the individual businesses concerned go, too often overlooked by manufacturer and airtime giants as minor cogs in the UK mobile industry, that is an understatement.

To them, it's a major, financially destructive cock up. And they are angry, and ready to vent spleen at their paymasters - even those that dangle luxury trips to India in front of their noses.

It could be that Orange has mismanaged its stock orders, but dealers claim it happens like clockwork every year; to the extent clever (and pessimistic) dealers forecast the annual shortage in their business plans, stocking up with handsets for other networks.

It comes back to this old issue of indirect dealers being disallowed from selling the network SIM-free, which means no Orange stock, no sale.

Direct dealers, stores and those it keeps close are freer to do as they please, because Orange trusts them.

As always, it only drives dealers and network further apart. Dealers will look hopefully to Orange's rivals, and Orange will trust in dealers' fickle nature.