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.

Mark Bridge writes:

Last week a major retailer with a significant online presence announced plans to release its own-brand smartphone by the end of the year. No, not Amazon. This news came from Tesco.

Mark Bridge writes:

'Twas the week before Christmas, when all thro' the mobile industry
came a sudden burst of news-related activity.

Mark Bridge writes:

Google’s big announcement last week involved the company introducing Android v4.3 (as expected), launching a new Nexus 7 tablet (as expected) and also revealing a ‘Chromecast’ HDMI adaptor that’ll stream from most portable devices. That was more of a surprise.

Mark Bridge writes:

The telecommunications industry was making plenty of headlines last week – but much of it wasn’t particularly upbeat.

The debate about privacy and security continued in the wake of allegations about US agents intercepting internet traffic. Meanwhile, Nokia prepared to make its last Symbian smartphones and Tradedoubler warned that mobile devices were having a negative effect on high-street consumer loyalty.

Mark Bridge writes:

We’re moving into that time of year where product announcements are replaced by promotional campaigns and sales figures. Apple revealed it had sold three million assorted iPad tablets in just three days, while Samsung said its Galaxy SIII smartphone had sold more than 30 million units since its launch in May.

We talk to two very different companies at Mobile World Congress about their businesses and their relationships with mobile networks. Rebtel is a mobile voice-over-IP provider, while Mosaik Solutions produces mobile network coverage information.

In this week's news report we're discussing PayPal's latest mobile money initiative, we're looking at London Underground's new WiFi service and we're transfixed by Vodafone's m-health move. Listen to all this - and much more - online at TheFonecast.com.

This roundtable discussion on Privacy in Mobile Applications was held during Mobile World Congress 2012. It was hosted by MEF, the global community for mobile content & commerce, and was supported by SNR Denton.

Heroes of Emerging Markets: recorded during Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona. This panel discussion, sponsored by Pearson and arranged by mobileheroes.net, looks at the opportunities of doing mobile business in emerging markets.

Although the new Apple iPad has been grabbing the mainstream news headlines, there's much more going on in the mobile industry. We look at all the top mobile stories, from 4G in the UK to mobile money investments by Visa Europe.