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.

Noam Green of Flash Networks writes:

The introduction and deployment of LTE networks offers real promise for both subscribers and operators worldwide. It brings the potential for revolutionary improvements in quality of experience for mobile broadband, and even faster downloads and video streaming.

Robin Kent writes:

After initially suffering from slow pick up by consumers, 4G has begun to accelerate, and is now well on the way to the forecasted one billion subscribers by 2017. In fact EE, owner of T-Mobile and Orange, recently announced the addition of 493,000 new 4G customers to its existing base of 1.2 million.

Macario Namie writes:

As the connected car phenomenon gains pace, 2014 will see global automotive firms embracing LTE. Machina Research predicts 90% of cars sold in 2020 will have some form of embedded connectivity – that connectivity roll-out continues strong in 2014 and LTE is pivotal to its long-term success.

Mark Bridge writes:

Ring-back tones offer consumers yet another way to customise their mobile phone service. Yet despite this – and the revenue opportunities they provide – many mobile network operators don’t offer them.

Recently I spoke to Florent Stroppa, General Manager Europe for value-added service specialist OnMobile, to find out why the UK doesn’t really seem to be bothered about ring-back tones… and whether the next-generation of ring-back services will change this.

Mark Bridge writes:

I don’t know about you but I’m delighted to see Sony Mobile getting plenty of coverage for its new smart watch and giant smartphone. The company’s impressive presence at Mobile World Congress 2013 showed plenty of promise... and I’d say it’s now delivering.

Can mobile devices be used for game-based learning as part of the school curriculum?

This discussion was recorded in Barcelona during Mobile World Congress 2013 as part of Heroes of the Mobile Fringe. The panel was moderated by Russell Buckley with contributions from Vincent Hoogsteder of Distimo, Volker Hirsch of BlackBerry and Alina Vandenberghe of Pearson.

Traditional media is in a state of flux, with consumers changing their media consumption habits. User-generated content, piracy and the rise of mobile are presenting even more challenges.

But what does it mean for publishers and media owners?

Today's edition of The Fonecast takes a look at the top mobile-related news stories from the past week, including the new Google Keep app, Apple's mapping acquisition and Facebook's VoIP service.

We also cover the BlackBerry World application store, a new UK 4G survey from eBay, in-car connectivity and the recent Yahoo! purchase of Summly.

Mobile has been called the new frontier in consumer loyalty. But exactly how can mobile technology be used to improve the customer experience in high-street shops?

To learn more, we've joined a discussion group moderated by Russell Buckley with contributions from Katie Lips, Coen van Breda, David Hueso, Troy Norcross and Priya Prakash.

New businesses need more than just a good idea. They also need money. That's why the Mobile Monday London group chose 'Finance, Incubators and Accelerators' as the topic for its recent meeting.

This special report offers a variety of perspectives on business funding in a panel discussion with John Spindler, Alistair Hill, Nic Brisbourne, Sitar Teli, Michel Sabatier and Inma Martinez.