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.
ExclusivePodcast - 1st October 2011 Podcasts Mark - September 30, 2011 Mark Bridge heads to Bletchley Park for Over The Air 2011, a unique annual event for mobile developers. This is the first of two special reports; today Mark catches up with Dr Sue Black, Daniel Appelquist and Paul Johnston to learn exactly what Over The Air is all about.
ExclusivePodcast - 28th September 2011 Podcasts Mark - September 27, 2011 HP, Facebook and Twitter are all up for discussion in The Fonecast this week, along with customer service complaints, mobile security failings and children with iPhones.
ExclusivePodcast - 21st September 2011 Podcasts Mark - September 20, 2011 There's a wide variety of mobile industry news in this week's podcast, from the launch of Google Wallet to the appearance of Windows 8 on a tablet device. Plus we talk about RIM's results, Apple's advertising, InMobi's investment... and much more.
ExclusivePodcast - 16th September 2011 Podcasts Mark - September 15, 2011 We listen to the European Commission's eCall announcement by Neelie Kroes. It marks the start of the EC's planned introduction of in-car emergency call technology by 2015.
ExclusivePodcast - 14th September 2011 Podcasts Mark - September 13, 2011 In this week's edition of The Fonecast we're covering a wide range of mobile industry topics, from apps to ads, from patents to payments... and from mobile TV to Flash video.