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.
ExclusiveHow mobile messaging delivers more Christmas cheer than a card Opinion Mark - December 7, 2011 Mark Bridge writes: By now you already know the basics. More and more people have smartphones - and they’re becoming an essential companion. They’re taking over from digital cameras, they’re taking over from portable gaming consoles, they’re taking over from music players… and now they’re taking over from Christmas cards. Yes, Christmas cards.
ExclusiveMobile optimised websites v native applications for mobile devices Opinion Mark - December 6, 2011 James Rosewell writes: 51Degrees.mobi's figures show 10 per cent of web traffic in the UK originates from mobile devices. In India this figure rises to over 90 per cent. With global mobile internet usage expected to grow from 14 million at the end of 2010 to 788 million by the end of 2015, every business needs a strategy for mobile connectivity.
ExclusiveLast week at The Fonecast: 5th December 2011 Opinion Mark - December 4, 2011 Mark Bridge writes: Season of goodwill? Not in the mobile phone industry. Orange UK is putting its prices up next month. It says the 4.34% rise is less than inflation, so you might think customers would be pleased. You’d be wrong. Also unhappy are many people who’ve discovered Carrier IQ software embedded on their phones. Fortunately for the UK mobile industry, most of those people seem to be in the United States. And there was unhappiness in Egypt as Twitter’s acquisition of privacy and security company Whisper Systems saw Whisper’s mobile encryption applications taken (temporarily) offline.
ExclusiveMy phone isn't spying on me... and yours probably isn't, either Opinion Mark - November 30, 2011 Mark Bridge writes: “Mobile operators track who you call. In other news, banks know how much money is in your account and utility companies know where you live.” At the end of a week in which so-called ‘spyware’ on mobile phones had been creating headlines, this tweet from Benedict Evans offered an alternative perspective.
ExclusiveFarmers want QR cows, infrared sheep and mobile-controlled sheepdogs Opinion Mark - November 29, 2011 Mark Bridge writes: A brainstorming day run by T-Mobile UK with a dozen farmers, M&C Saatchi Mobile, the National Farmers Union and EBLEX (the organisation for the English beef and sheep industry) has resulted in some fascinating mobile-focussed solutions. The aim was to raise awareness of the benefits that smartphone technology can bring farmers and other small business owners.