A British company has developed an innovative anti-theft mechanism which will order a mobile phone to commit digital suicide should it fall into the wrong hands. The system – named Backstopp - was created to limit the possibility of data-theft from smart phones, PDAs, and BlackBerry devices.

Virtuity, the manufacturers of Backstopp, may have bridged the gap between reality and the silver screen but exploding communications devices – the likes of which James Bond or Ethan Hunt might ponder over – are still confined to photogenic action heroes in Hollywood blockbusters.

Backstopp is not a remote detonator; very few modern mobile phones are rigged with tiny bombs ready to explode should the situation call for it. The software uses either the internet or the GSM network to decommission any intelligent electronic device (i.e. a laptop or a phone - not a toaster), anywhere in the world.

David Brooker, the managing director of Virtuity, explained that Backstopp was built to address a very real threat: “Mobile devices are increasingly carrying large quantities of sensitive information, both personal and commercial. That data is very likely to appeal to both crooks and competitors.”

Backstopp Mobile works as an addendum to the company’s primary laptop defence system and utilises the same security protocols as the US Department of Defence. If the stolen device comes equipped with a camera, the Backstopp service can even provide the relevant authorities with photographic evidence of the thief at work.

Virtuity offers its services for around £4 per device per month and can be contacted at the official Backstopp website.

Ofcom has been urged to set up an investigation into how call charges are regulated with regards to calls to Freephone numbers from mobile phones. The desperate plea has come from moneysupermarket.com. This leading price comparison website is currently concerned that no mobile providers allow all 0800 calls to be made free of charge.

Phone calls made to 0800 numbers are often essential and the price comparison website believes that charging is simply not fair and eighty per cent of the population share this belief. Essential 0800 calls which are made on a regular basis by British consumers include ones to banks, telecoms providers, and utility companies.

Moneysupermarket.com has conducted research recently which shows that over the past year, approximately forty per cent of adults in the United Kingdom have had to make an 0800 call from their mobile phone. These calls have resulted in additional charges which have surpassed eighty million pounds. As if this news was not worrying enough, the price comparison website also discovered that most people are unaware that making calls to 0800 numbers will result in charges.

The issue is becoming increasingly important at a time when many households are abandoning the use of a landline and choosing to use a mobile phone instead. Over the last five years, there has been a massive increase in mobile-only households. Even without this statistic, the need for clarification from Ofcom about the charges remains relevant, since almost every household in the United Kingdom uses at least one mobile. Furthermore, in many households across the nation, every member of the family owns a mobile.