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.
ExclusiveThe Cell Phone Turns 40 Opinion Mark - April 3, 2013 Rick Pantaleo of voanews.com writes: Forty years ago today the cell phone era began on the streets of New York City. The historic first cell phone call was made by Martin Cooper, director of systems operations for the communications division of the Motorola company, to his main rival at Bell Labs.
ExclusiveLast week at The Fonecast: 25th March 2013 Opinion Mark - March 25, 2013 Mark Bridge writes: Farewell, ST-Ericsson. It didn’t bode well when CEO Didier Lamouche announced his planned departure a couple of weeks ago – and now both STMicroelectronics and Ericsson have confirmed they’ll be splitting the company between them before closing it down.
ExclusiveThe secret to starting a successful mobile-related business Opinion Mark - March 22, 2013 Mark Bridge writes: What’s the secret to starting a successful mobile-related business? It turns out there’s no magic answer… but there’s plenty of useful advice worth listening to. There are also plenty of opportunities to get funding, whether in the form of a loan, a grant or an investment.
ExclusiveFreezing Android Phones just won't break the ice with forensic investigators Opinion Mark - March 21, 2013 Yuval Ben-Moshe writes: Freezing Android phones just won't break the ice with forensic investigators. Leading and available mobile forensics tools already have similar capabilities, enabling law enforcement to effectively obtain admissible evidences from mobile devices.
ExclusiveLast week at The Fonecast: 18th March 2013 Opinion Mark - March 18, 2013 Mark Bridge writes: Samsung launched a new flagship Android smartphone last week, eschewing Roman numerals and calling it the Galaxy S4. Well, it was never really going to be the SIV, was it?