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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

Monday, November 11, 2013

Last week at The Fonecast: 11th November 2013

A $1 billion rescue and an £8 million tariff

Mark Bridge writes:

We started last week with a change of plan from BlackBerry. No, it’s not selling itself to Fairfax Financial. Instead it’s aiming to raise $1 billion from investors. Cynics might suggest there wasn’t enough interest for a takeover.

Another big name hitting the mainstream headlines was Twitter, which launched on the stock market. Not only was the initial share price higher than expected, the company’s value was up by over 70% by the end of the first day. That’s impressive, although it’s the longer-term picture that really counts.

Here in the UK, there was news about a new range of Android smartphones. Step forward Kazam, founded six months ago by a couple of chaps who’d previously worked at HTC. With the promise of a replacement screen if you damage your phone in the first year, it’s clear the company has a clear focus on customer service.

Also keen to help customers was EE, which revealed plans to bring LTE-Advanced to London and also started talking about a one million gigabyte 4G data bundle. According to EE, it would take one person 13 years of non-stop HD video streaming to burn their way through it. Yours for just £8 million.

However, not all the week’s news was good. Ofcom pointed its regulatory finger at Vodafone UK, noting that the network had fallen short of its 3G coverage target. Vodafone has promised to achieve 90% population coverage by the end of 2013, bring it into line with EE, O2 and Three.

And we saw two CEOs prepare for departure. As well as Thorsten Heins leaving BlackBerry when the new funding arrives, Acer CEO JT Wang is stepping down after poor financial results. There are some weighty names getting involved when they leave: former Sybase chief exec John Chen is taking over at BlackBerry, while Acer co-founders Stan Shih and George Huang are overseeing restructuring at Acer. Good luck to all.

On Monday mornings we summarise the past week’s mobile industry headlines in a newsletter that’s very much like this article. To receive it, simply register your email address at TheFonecast.com by clicking the link at the top right-hand corner of our home page.
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Recent Podcasts

Trends, tablets and training with Faisal Sheikh from Fone Doctors

Podcast - 22nd June 2012

Iain Graham visits Faisal Sheikh of London-based Fone Doctors in today's audio feature.

They talk about the recent Fone Doctors relocation to new offices near London Bridge and Faisal's plans for a franchise outlet at Liverpool Street station before moving on to discuss training, customer service, the rise of the tablet and the demise of customer service.

Author: The Fonecast
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Microsoft makes tablets while Nokia makes cuts

Podcast - 20th June 2012

This week's mobile industry news podcast starts with two very different stories from Nokia and Microsoft: one is announcing closures, the other is expanding its manufacturing.

We also find time to talk about roaming tariffs, mobile money, intelligent vending machines and a handful of recent mobile-related acquisitions.

Author: The Fonecast
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Apple previews iOS6, Vodafone goes roaming and Xbox gets mobile

Podcast - 13th June 2012

In this week's mobile industry news podcast we're looking at Apple's new mobile operating system, Vodafone's money-saving European tariff and Microsoft's plans to expand the reach of its Xbox gaming console.

There's also talk about network sharing, legal battles, mobile apps, mobile payments and mobile retailing.

Author: The Fonecast
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Over The Air 2012

Podcast - 9th June 2012

James Rosewell reports from Over The Air 2012 in today's podcast.

The event, which took place on 1st and 2nd June 2012 at Bletchley Park, attracted around 600 mobile developers and designers to celebrate all things mobile.

Author: The Fonecast
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Podcast - 6th June 2012

We're taking a break from the current mobile industry news headlines this Diamond Jubilee week. In fact, we're celebrating our own anniversary because it's six years since we first started recording The Fonecast.

Listen to this week's podcast and we'll take you back to 2006, a year in which 'mobile music' meant ringtones, the Nokia N95 redefined 'smart' and we reported rumours of a new Apple 'iPod phone' being prepared by Foxconn.

Author: The Fonecast
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