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Ofcom says mobile contracts should ditch inflation-related price rises

Ofcom says mobile contracts should ditch inflation-related price rises

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.
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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, March 26, 2012

Last week at The Fonecast: 26th March 2012

Mark Bridge writes:

It’s been a week of ups and downs for the mobile industry.

It started with good news as Apple – fresh from hitting 3 million new iPad sales – announced its plans to spend some of the $100 billion sitting in its decidedly non-mobile wallet. There’ll be a quarterly dividend and a share buy-back scheme.

And tablet sales are set to keep influencing the mobile market, with Juniper Research predicting that spending on tablet games will account for around a third of all mobile game revenue by 2016 – while ABI Research anticipated the increasing dominance of lower-cost tablet devices with smaller displays.

On the subject of growth, the number of LTE mobile phone shipments worldwide will grow tenfold this year, according to a new report from Strategy Analytics (although I can’t imagine many of those being sold in the UK). Fortunately other smartphones will be selling, according to research company YouGov: it’s found that 42% of ‘standard’ mobile phone owners plan to choose a smartphone when they upgrade.

Innovative ideas came from Wired magazine, which included an NFC advertisement in its US issue, and from the GSMA. Fresh from Mobile World Congress (and smarting from the inevitable complaints about its free WiFi for delegates), it’s working with the Wireless Broadband Alliance to make it easier for mobile devices to connect to WiFi hotspots. The plans are for your SIM card to automatically provide log-in details.

Finally to the week’s bad news. Mobile security business Lookout named Manchester as the top place for mislaid mobiles, Ofcom named Orange as the network that attracted the most complaints in the final quarter of 2011 – and Channel 4 news named Barclays and Visa as having NFC payment cards that weren’t particularly secure. Apparently an NFC-equipped smartphone could be used to copy the cardholder’s name and number, leading to the possibility of pickpockets simply rubbing themselves against you.

However, as PIN codes and the CVV number from the back of the card aren’t transmitted, the resulting information could also be obtained by someone looking over your shoulder. And that’s less fun for all concerned.

Start your week with a reminder of the latest mobile headlines. Simply register at TheFonecast.com by clicking the link at the top right-hand corner of our home page and we’ll send you this weekly news summary by email.

The Fonecast is sponsored by 51Degrees.mobi. More details about advertising and sponsorship opportunities are available on the About us section of our website.
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