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.
ExclusiveThis week at The Fonecast: 7th May 2011 Opinion Mark - May 7, 2011 Mark Bridge writes: It's time for another round-up of the week's mobile industry news. Two of the recurring themes we've encountered in the last few months are legal action and partnerships. This week's legal story involves a conflict between Huawei and ZTE, while the partnership news sees RIM working with Microsoft. Yes, you may well raise your eyebrows. It seems Nokia-loving Microsoft is also a friend of the BlackBerry.
ExclusiveWhy the cloud will kill SMS text messages... eventually Opinion Mark - May 5, 2011 Mark Bridge writes: This week my lovely wife made a rare error in leaving her mobile phone behind when she left the house. Fortunately I was working at home, so I was able to answer her calls and relay her messages. But it got me thinking. What were the alternatives?
ExclusiveThis week at The Fonecast: 1st May 2011 Opinion Mark - May 1, 2011 Mark Bridge writes: We've had another short working week here in the UK... although not necessarily if you're working in retail. The reason for that shortness was a combination of Easter Monday and the Royal Wedding – an event that was rumoured to have its own mobile phone jammer. As well as having another short week, we've also had another week of financial figures.
ExclusiveThis week at The Fonecast: 23rd April 2011 Opinion Mark - April 23, 2011 Mark Bridge writes: It’s Easter, but that’s not stopped the mobile phone industry from generating plenty of news stories. Let’s start with partnerships. Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom - which already work together as Everything Everywhere in the UK – have now agreed to combine their procurement activities for customer equipment, network equipment, service platforms and IT infrastructure. Yes, even these two telecoms giants can save money with group buying!
ExclusiveExactly how boring is the Samsung Galaxy II S? Opinion Mark - April 22, 2011 Mark Bridge writes: In July last year I wrote about the 'geek porn' of unboxing being taken to a new level with celebrity unboxing (which sounds rather like a challenge from a reality TV show). Sony Ericsson had persuaded Maria Sharapova to give her first impressions of the X10 Mini Pro. The end result was entertaining, if not insightful. And now Samsung have added a new facet to the trend with 'extreme unboxing'.