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: 9th January 2012 Opinion Mark - January 8, 2012 Mark Bridge writes: Happy New Year and welcome back to our weekly news summary. Thanks to the Bank Holiday last Monday we’ve had a relatively gentle start to the year, although I’m sure this week’s CES show in Las Vegas will generate plenty of product news.
ExclusiveCarnival of the Mobilists #256 Opinion Mark - January 8, 2012 Mark Bridge writes: Happy New Year and welcome to the travelling circus better known as the Carnival of the Mobilists. If you’re looking for the best mobile-related blog posts from the past couple of weeks, you’ve come to the right place. (If you’re wondering about the name of Beyonce’s baby, you need to try somewhere else).
ExclusiveDon't worry about explaining your mobile design, just make sure it works Opinion Mark - January 3, 2012 Mark Bridge writes: Chinese mobile manufacturer ZTE has just announced a new mobile phone design philosophy. It’s called “Caring, Creative, Simple, Smart” and - let’s be honest - you could say it sounds a little trite.
ExclusiveDiscover our mobile phone industry predictions for 2012 Opinion Mark - December 20, 2011 Mark Bridge writes: In today’s podcast - our last programme in 2011 - we’re doing our best to predict what’ll be happening in the mobile industry next year. Will there be big announcements from the Wholesale Application Community? Innovation from Intel? Falling sales at Apple? Reorganisations at RIM? Listen to find out what we forecast.
ExclusiveLast week at The Fonecast: 19th December 2011 Opinion Mark - December 18, 2011 Mark Bridge writes: “He knows if you’ve been bad or good...” You don’t need to be Santa Claus to appreciate that RIM’s quarterly results have marked a disappointing end to a disappointing year. Yes, the company’s sold millions of BlackBerry phones - but PlayBook sales haven’t been good, its new OS is delayed and its market share appears to be falling. You could argue that 2012 is a make-or-break year for Research In Motion... or at least for its current management.