SOME LIGHT is appearing at the end of the tunnel for Emmet Memery’s Oyster Telecom.

Two months after Vodafone pulled its contract with Oyster, the company has signed a deal with rival mobile operator 3 to sell its mobile broadband services through the group’s chain of retail outlets.

“We see a bright future with 3,” Memery told me yesterday. “We’re perfectly suited for them and we’ll be selling the broadband service through our shops.”

Oyster has about 20 shops. Memery said he had been working hard to realign the business since losing the Vodafone account, on which he declined to comment.

Oyster was Vodafone’s largest independent agent and the two had worked together for about 12 years before the relationship ended before Christmas.

Oyster posted pretax profits in 2007 of €2.4 million as turnover declined to €47 million from €60 million a year earlier. This was the result of the group’s decision to withdraw from the wholesale mobile handset market.

Its mobile phone operation accounted for €35 million of its sales in 2007 last year.

Formally known as Cellular Services, it was rebranded as Oyster in 2007.