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.

This week we're talking to Bob Sweetlove of distributor HSC about the company's recent Mobile News Award for 'best airtime distributor'. And, as usual, we look at the latest industry headlines, from the BlackBerry PlayBook to mobile payments.

It's been a week of acquisition announcements, with T-Mobile USA, Phones 4U and Snaptu all apparently changing hands. The team also talks about Ofcom's 4G auction plans, Android legal action, the Mobile News Awards... and much more.

Iain, James and Mark look at the week's mobile news headlines, from Ofcom cutting termination rates to Opera launching its own application store... and they also hear how an unusual ringtone resulted in a criminal gang being apprehended.

In this week's podcast we discuss the iPad 2, data restrictions, mobile radio, mobile viruses and mobile tickets. In addition, Leslie Ferry of Broadsoft talks about IP communications... and Iain Graham raps. Yes, really.

There's a focus on mobile payments in this week's podcast, with a look back at Mobile World Congress and a conversation with Mary Carol Harris of Visa Europe. The team also takes its regular review of the week's headlines, including Vodafone's network problems and a hiccup with Microsoft's Windows Phone update.