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.

By incorporating advanced algorithms and machine learning capabilities, AI can help to optimize a smartphone's performance, providing users with a faster, more efficient and user-friendly experience.

Mark Bridge writes:

I've been taking a look back at the devices I've written about during the past few years. Some are still faithful companions, others... well, let's just say my faith was misplaced.

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?

The O2 More opt-in marketing service is introducing location-based mobile marketing to the UK. The trial scheme will allow brands to target their promotions at consumers who are within a specific area.

Everything Everywhere, the company that manages the Orange and T-Mobile UK networks, will turn six of its mobile phone stores into dual-branded shops before Christmas. Three T-Mobile shops will have Orange branding added, with three Orange shops being rebranded to include the T-Mobile name. Both brands will be given equal prominence on the external signage.

Could this be the must-have gift for mobile phone users this Christmas?

Wireless technology company BeeWi has launched a Mini Cooper 'radio controlled' car that works using Bluetooth via an Android or Symbian smartphone. The Mini Cooper can be controlled from the phone's touchscreen or by tilting and moving a handset that has a built-in accelerometer.

Complaints about a TV ad for Doro mobile phones have been upheld by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority. The advertisement showed a demonstration of a Doro handset and described the benefits of Doro big-button phones, ending "Doro mobile phones, brilliantly simple. Only available from Orange, from your local store or online. Find out more at doro.co.uk/easy."

Tesco plc has published its half-yearly results, which include details of its Tesco Mobile virtual mobile network in the UK.

The company notes that the number of 'pay monthly' mobile customers has grown at around 25,000 per month to reach a total of over 160,000 subscribers.