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.
ExclusiveNew phones, new CEOs, mobile payments and 4G growth Podcasts Mark - March 20, 2013 In today's podcast we're talking about Samsung's new Galaxy S4 smartphone, BlackBerry's record-breaking purchase order and Intuit's mobile payment service. There's also a discussion about the changes at ST-Ericsson, a new CEO coming to ARM, Vodafone's sponsorship plans, management moves at Android and the 2013 Mobile News Awards.
ExclusiveCutbacks for Motorola and no increases for Tesco Mobile... plus the rest of the week's news Podcasts Mark - March 13, 2013 Today's podcast talks about job cuts at Motorola, a tariff promise from Tesco Mobile and a departing CEO at ST-Ericsson. There's also news about acquisitions, application stores, European network standards and a chilly way of breaking into an encrypted smartphone.
ExclusiveAll the big news from Mobile World Congress... and much more Podcasts Mark - March 6, 2013 We're back from Mobile World Congress 2013 with the latest news for the UK mobile phone industry. Today's conversation covers new handsets, forthcoming operating systems, apps, mobile payments, VoIP, 4G and Facebook's two-tier internet.
ExclusiveWe report from Mobile World Congress 2013 Podcasts Mark - March 1, 2013 Today's podcast was recorded at Mobile World Congress 2013, where Mark Bridge has been reporting on the latest news from handset manufacturers. He also drops into the Global Mobile Awards - and finds out who won the inaugural Dead Technology Award at the unofficial festival fringe.
ExclusiveWhat to expect at Mobile World Congress 2013: Windsor Holden of Juniper Research Podcasts Mark - February 23, 2013 In today's special programme we're preparing for Mobile World Congress 2013. To find out what to expect, Mark Bridge talks to Dr Windsor Holden of Juniper Research. Their conversation covers everything from Apple's absence to connected cows - and from new operating systems to paying for applications.