Vodafone UK has published a statement in response to what it describes as employee 'bribery' allegations.

It reads "Vodafone UK launched a thorough investigation at the time of the original allegations against journalists in 2006 and did not find that any employees were involved in any wrongdoing."

The latest MEF Global Consumer Survey shows the UK as a leader when it comes to mobile commerce.

91% of consumers in the UK said they'd used a mobile device to engage in commerce, either for research or for purchasing. Over 8,500 people were contacted in Brazil, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa, the UK and the USA, with all markets reporting at least 72% of consumers involved in mobile commerce.

We start this week's edition of The Fonecast by talking about Nortel's patents before moving on to Google+, roaming charges, mobile payments and health concerns. We also find time to discuss app stores, some new research and the Pope's iPad.

As usual, you can download this week's show from iTunes - or you can listen to the podcast by using the audio player on our website.

The European Parliament says member states should publicise the 112 emergency number in doctors' surgeries, pharmacies, schools, universities, airports and railway stations.

A survey published earlier this year found that only 26% of EU citizens could spontaneously identify 112 as the number to call in an emergency abroad.

A new report from information security research and analysis specialists Goode Intelligence says the market for mobile phone biometric security products and services is expected to grow significantly in the next five years.

This year, mobile phone biometric security will generate just over $30 million - but the market is expected to grow to over $161 million by 2015.

Mark Windle, head of marketing at OpenCloud, predicts that this year’s reduction in the number of traditional telecoms operators in some countries will provide an opportunity for other operators to innovate and capture market share in 2016.

He says next year will be a year of rapid change for telecoms… whether it’s MVNO disruption, competitive tariff pricing or simply defence from the ‘dark art’ of hacking.

Mark Bridge writes:

The most memorable moments in life often go unrecorded. You don't have your camera in your hands. Your finger is still hovering over the 'pause' button on your audio recorder. Or you were simply too busy experiencing whatever was happening. It's all about the one that got away.

That's where Kapture can help.

Mark Bridge writes:

James Rosewell shows me a colourful roll of paper that's the width of an iPhone but well over three metres long. When I look closer, I can see it's a printed copy of the Wall Street Journal's mobile website. That's a lot of scrolling to do... and a pretty unfriendly user experience for anyone reading the news online. Why does it work so badly?

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return to review their mobile industry predictions from last year. Which mergers, partnerships and developments did they forecast correctly... and which didn’t work out as planned?

Later in the programme, the team anticipates some of the topics that will be hitting the headlines during 2016.

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

They discuss the state of mobile retailing in the UK, the future of wearable devices and - as you might expect - smartphones for seniors.

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.