ExclusiveConnecting London Car Telephones to TheFonecast.com Opinion The Fonecast - June 4, 2026 It was 1996 when I started working at the Cricklewood head office of Peoples Phone [writes Mark Bridge], initially in a sales support role before becoming part of the Marketing team. The company was an independent mobile phone retailer with a growing network of high-street shops and connected customers. In November 1996 the company and its customer base were acquired by Vodafone, which had already taken over the Talkland retail business and was soon to add Astec to its portfolio.
ExclusiveOfcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges News Mark - November 3, 2024 New rules from UK telecoms regulator Ofcom will protect customers when they use their mobile phone on a foreign network. In addition, customers will be alerted if they are inadvertently roaming, perhaps because they're near an international border.
ExclusiveGlobal smartphone market is set for recovery, says new forecast News Mark - November 23, 2023 A new forecast from research specialists Canalys shows the smartphone market is set to recover next year. Worldwide shipments declined by 12% last year but that decline is expected to slow to 5% this year.
ExclusiveVodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses Networks and operators Mark - June 20, 2023 Vodafone Group plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited have agreed to combine their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK. The merger will create a large new network operator to compete with Virgin Media O2 and EE.
ExclusiveUK mobile payment service Paym to close in March 2023 News Mark - December 18, 2022 UK mobile payment service Paym will close on 7th March 2023. The service, which allowed users to make and receive payments using their mobile phone numbers, was launched in 2014.
ExclusiveLast week at The Fonecast: 30th September 2013 Opinion Mark - September 30, 2013 Mark Bridge writes: Things didn’t look so bad in the mobile industry last week. After the shock of BlackBerry’s job losses and restructuring, it seemed as though the saga could be reaching a conclusion. On Monday shareholder Fairfax Financial announced a bid to buy the company. BlackBerry’s board of directors has approved the terms of the agreement, although it’s still able to consider alternative proposals as well.
ExclusiveLast week at The Fonecast: 23rd September 2013 Opinion Mark - September 23, 2013 Mark Bridge writes: There are bad weeks... and there are BAD weeks. Blackberry had one of the latter. It all started so well. The company announced a new flagship phablet – the Z30 – and said it would be launching its BBM instant messaging service for iOS and Android handsets at the weekend.
ExclusiveLast week at The Fonecast: 16th September 2013 Opinion Mark - September 16, 2013 Mark Bridge writes: iPhone, iPhone. Two of ‘em, one dearer than the other but neither especially cheap. One with a 64-bit look-at-me-I’m-fast processor, the other much like an iPhone 5 with a coloured rear panel.
ExclusiveEC's Neelie Kroes says ‘we must act now’ to change European telecoms rules Opinion Mark - September 13, 2013 Mark Bridge writes: Following Wednesday’s ‘State of the Union’ speech by EC President Jose Manuel Barroso, EC Vice-President Neelie Kroes has emphasised the urgency of changing the way telecoms companies operate across Europe. Ms Kroes wants to cut red tape, end roaming charges, reduce call costs and introduce ‘net neutrality’ across Europe.
ExclusiveLast week at The Fonecast: 2nd September 2013 Opinion Mark - September 2, 2013 Mark Bridge writes: So – we take a short break at the end of the August ‘silly season’ and one of the year’s biggest mobile-related rumours becomes fact. At least we’re back in time to report on the final stages of the Vodafone/Verizon deal. Yes, it looks as though Big Red will be picking up something like $130 billion for its 45% stake in Verizon Communications… possibly within the next few hours. Just don’t mention the tax, okay?