After a couple of minutes of using the apple headset I get interference and echoing, is this more likely to be an issue with the mobile operator/signal degradation?
This is great if all you want to do is listen to music. What if the op is getting this interference when on phone calls? Airplane mode won't work.
I would try another pair of headphones. The problem is either with the jack, or with the headphones themselves. Hopefully its the headphones. Much easier to replace with Apple.