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Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

UK service providers must notify customers when they connect to a different network

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.
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Global smartphone market is set for recovery, says new forecast

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.
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Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

New Hutchison/Vodafone network would be biggest UK operator

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.
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UK mobile payment service Paym to close in March 2023

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.
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Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Which? seeks payout for Samsung and Apple smartphone owners

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.
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Opinion Articles

Friday, February 25, 2011

This week at The Fonecast: 26th February 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

For many people, the week after Mobile World Congress has a flat, post-Christmas, post-holiday feeling.

But not here at The Fonecast. We’ve produced two extra podcasts this week – themed around mobile audio and mobile usability – and there are more interviews from MWC lined up for next week.

However, it’s certainly true to say there was a lot of news announced at Barcelona… and, as a result, there seems to have been less than usual this week.

New products were revealed by Burnside Telecom and GAI-Tronics, who’ve worked together to create rugged telephones and mobile-enabled terminals. These go beyond the ‘tough’ products that usually grab the headlines; think of the kind of telephone handset you might find next to a level crossing and you won’t be too far wrong.

Operating system news came courtesy of Microsoft, whose first Windows Phone update ran smoothly for 90% of customers but was eventually suspended for Samsung handsets. A tad embarrassing.

And network news was provided by financial results from Everything Everywhere and Telefonica. I’m no analyst but I’d say that the latter had the edge.

NFC hit the headlines twice. First with major mobile network operators saying they’d launch commercial Near Field Communications services in some markets by next year. They didn’t say what they’d be using NFC for, so don’t cut up your credit cards and burn your wallet yet, but it sounds positive.

Also talking about NFC was Transport for London, which takes care of Bus, Tube, Docklands Light Railway, Tram and London Overground rail services. It’s upgrading its card readers this year to allow instant payment using a contactless bank card, replacing the need to buy a pre-paid 'Oyster' card (or a conventional ticket). Fingers crossed that any new mobile payment service will be compatible.

On the subject of the Tube, there was a lot of speculation about Huawei and its plans/hopes/ambitions to get mobile phones working on the London Underground. Nothing’s been confirmed yet, although there are suggestions that Huawei might be the only equipment provider that’s interested in the deal.

Finally, this week has provided many reminders that the world is not always a particularly stable place… both physically and politically. Mobile phones have been used to send disturbing images from Libya – and it’s now possible to use mobile phones to send help to the earthquake victims in New Zealand.

Which means I won’t be ending this email with a clever punch-line. Just a link to the Red Cross.


You can read this weekly bulletin before it appears on the website. To receive it by email, simply register on our website by clicking the link in the top right-hand corner of the page.

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