UK telecoms regulator Ofcom wants to ban inflation-related rises in phone and broadband contracts. Instead, it says any potential mid-contract price rises should be set out in pounds and pence.

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.

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.

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.

Consumer protection organisation Which? has been given permission by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone buyers in a legal case against chip manufacturer Qualcomm.

The GSMA reported that 85,000 visitors attended Mobile World Congress this year, breaking all previous records for the show.

Andrew Skinner, Relationship Director of the Technology, Media & Telecoms team at Barclays, reflects on his time in Barcelona and some of the key themes to come out of this year’s show.

James Rosewell writes:

I noticed a new phenomenon at Mobile World Congress this year: Beer O’Clock. Come 5pm Monday through Wednesday, companies with larger booths would break out the Cerveza, Vino, Cava and a small number of Orange juices. All very sociable and fun… until the music started.

Mark Bridge writes:

So, that’s another Mobile World Congress in the bag. Yes, it was bigger than ever. Just like last year. Just like the year before, too.

Mark Bridge writes:

I was ready to poke fun at IBM for its sponsored graffiti wall at Mobile World Congress this year. Graffiti and IBM don't have a comfortable history, as anyone who remembers the Linux campaign from 2001 will tell you.

Mark Bridge writes:

Some companies have saved their big announcements for the week of Mobile World Congress. Samsung and Nokia, for example. Others have issued a press release in advance.

A review of the Nokia 7373 and Sony Ericsson K810i, all the news plus "Are we all swapping Pink for Prada?". There's also a look at Lyric EMI and Ascendo Photos for Blackberry.

The team discuss the changes taking place on the UK high street with 02 pulling out of Phones 4U. Has the Market matured? We also review the Samsung F700 and the HP iPAQ 514, plus Ghost Rider + VolumeCare Pro software for your mobile.

The team look at the cash back crisis impacting the mobile industry, plus review the BlackBerry 8800 and Nokia E90 Communicator. 2 new pieces of software with Andy McNab's Enigma Force and Quickoffice Premier v4.

This week the team look at all the latest news from GSM world, review 2 new phones from Nokia and Sony Ericsson the 8800 and W880i. We also look at smart2go and The Bird - Evil has Wings.

The week the team take a look at the D840 from Samsung and the V3xx from Motorola. They also debate the evolution of VoIP for mobile over the past 6 months, as well as review the latest news from the past 7 days. This weeks software review includes Sonic the Hedgehog and amaZe advertising support GPS navigation software.