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 - 4th May 2011 Podcasts Mark - May 3, 2011 This week's podcast returns to the subject of iPhone tracking before moving on to BlackBerry news, Nokia's reorganisation and mobile payments. There's also a look back to 2008, when virtual network Blyk announced its first 100,000 UK customers.
ExclusivePodcast - 27th April 2011 Podcasts Mark - April 26, 2011 This week's news stories include claims of spying iPhones, Nokia's plans, Facebook chat, Sony's tablets, Ofcom complaints, legal action and Charlie Sheen. We also look back at the 'cashback crisis' of 2007.
ExclusivePodcast - 20th April 2011 Podcasts Mark - April 19, 2011 This week's edition of The Fonecast covers text message donations, network partnerships, mobile payments and the latest innovations. There's also a look back at a feature from 2006 in which we discussed the still-current topic of voicemail hacking.
ExclusivePodcast - 13th April 2011 Podcasts Mark - April 12, 2011 In this week's podcast we're joined by David Emm from Kaspersky Lab UK to talk about malware on mobile phones. And, as usual, we take a look at the latest mobile industry headlines - from pricey tariffs to an unlimited internet deal.
ExclusivePodcast - 6th April 2011 Podcasts Mark - April 5, 2011 This week's podcast starts with news about mobile phones at the London 2012 Olympic Games... and ends with a newspaper being fooled by a ghostly iPhone application. In the middle you'll find mobile payments, takeovers, Facebook, wireless patents - and much more.