Packets in brown paper bags

The near-collapse of the comms market over the past few years put the willies up 3G licence holders to such an extent that some are keen to offer us the chance to see their fears close up.

Hutchison 3G last year appointed an executive to investigate ways of delivering pornography over third-generation networks. Virgin is looking at services it might bundle for operators.

Virgin may not have a 3G licence, but the company is expected to offer services in partnership with those that do. It is apparently looking at offering colour images, adult games and short video clips over the mobile network.

The emphasis is very much on services that offer fun and flirtation, but it's likely that prurient content will be available on some or all of the UK's third generation networks.

Businesses might find the inclusion of pornography on carrier networks distasteful, but vices have always driven new technologies, from the printing press to the internet. Telcos have pipes to fill and in hard times they can't be too fussy.

Operators are not particularly keen to discuss such plans, preferring to do business under the counter. But I doubt that many users will be turned on by tuning in to mobile frequencies. It's difficult to imagine people walking down the street or sitting on the bus looking at naked people in the palm of their hand, much less so sitting in meetings.

Many businesses are now looking to roll out mobile strategies, and directors may be nervous at the mere mention of mobile porn. The danger is that many corporate mobile devices will be logging in to the Lan on a regular basis to synchronise email, so any 'one-handed files' that happen to be on a handheld could end up back on the desktop.

There shouldn't be too many problems for corporate IT departments. Network managers will, in conjunction with operators, be able to bar users accessing certain sites on handsets, and the majority of companies have experience of blocking inappropriate material from entering their network. Acceptable use policies will need to be extended to mobile devices, and that includes personal devices if they're in use.

Real-time chat is another possibility. If this happens, businesses will need to set firm rules. Naughty chats over a managed corporate connection could land you in legal hot water if the person on the other end turns out to be under 16.

The lessons learned keeping the great undressed away from the desktops of the great unwashed should mean that mobile data strategies remain decent.

But naked ambition paired with stiff competition for 3G subscriptions and swollen telco overdrafts mean that packets in brown paper bags will be flying about all over the wireless space. So keep your eyes open, assuming you haven't gone blind.