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 - 30th March 2011 Podcasts Mark - March 29, 2011 This week we're talking to Bob Sweetlove of distributor HSC about the company's recent Mobile News Award for 'best airtime distributor'. And, as usual, we look at the latest industry headlines, from the BlackBerry PlayBook to mobile payments.
ExclusivePodcast - 23rd March 2011 Podcasts Mark - March 22, 2011 It's been a week of acquisition announcements, with T-Mobile USA, Phones 4U and Snaptu all apparently changing hands. The team also talks about Ofcom's 4G auction plans, Android legal action, the Mobile News Awards... and much more.
ExclusivePodcast - 16th March 2011 Podcasts Mark - March 15, 2011 Iain, James and Mark look at the week's mobile news headlines, from Ofcom cutting termination rates to Opera launching its own application store... and they also hear how an unusual ringtone resulted in a criminal gang being apprehended.
ExclusivePodcast - 9th March 2011 Podcasts Mark - March 8, 2011 In this week's podcast we discuss the iPad 2, data restrictions, mobile radio, mobile viruses and mobile tickets. In addition, Leslie Ferry of Broadsoft talks about IP communications... and Iain Graham raps. Yes, really.
ExclusivePodcast - 2nd March 2011 Podcasts Mark - March 1, 2011 There's a focus on mobile payments in this week's podcast, with a look back at Mobile World Congress and a conversation with Mary Carol Harris of Visa Europe. The team also takes its regular review of the week's headlines, including Vodafone's network problems and a hiccup with Microsoft's Windows Phone update.