The UK’s major mobile network operators and the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) are now all using the GSMA’s Spam Reporting Service to deal with unwanted SMS text messages.

Although networks have offered spam reporting services for several years, the involvement of the ICO will increase the likelihood of offenders being identified and fined rather than simply being blocked.

New figures from messaging threat protection specialists Cloudmark have revealed that text message spammers used more than 350,000 unique SMS spam variants in 2012.

December saw the widest variety, with more than 53,000 different variants received worldwide.

The GSMA, which represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry, has launched its own spam reporting service for text messages. At the moment it's just a pilot scheme and is being operated by AT&T Mobility, Korea Telecom and SFR.

Online security company Cloudmark will operate the GSMA Spam Reporting Service. It'll analyse SMS traffic submitted by customers of participating networks via a short code of '7726', which spells SPAM on most mobile phones.

Mark Windle, head of marketing at OpenCloud, predicts that this year’s reduction in the number of traditional telecoms operators in some countries will provide an opportunity for other operators to innovate and capture market share in 2016.

He says next year will be a year of rapid change for telecoms… whether it’s MVNO disruption, competitive tariff pricing or simply defence from the ‘dark art’ of hacking.

Mark Bridge writes:

The most memorable moments in life often go unrecorded. You don't have your camera in your hands. Your finger is still hovering over the 'pause' button on your audio recorder. Or you were simply too busy experiencing whatever was happening. It's all about the one that got away.

That's where Kapture can help.

Mark Bridge writes:

James Rosewell shows me a colourful roll of paper that's the width of an iPhone but well over three metres long. When I look closer, I can see it's a printed copy of the Wall Street Journal's mobile website. That's a lot of scrolling to do... and a pretty unfriendly user experience for anyone reading the news online. Why does it work so badly?

The Fonecast this week includes the announcement of iPhone OS v4.0 and the new Microsoft KIN mobile phones - along with details of other social networking handsets, takeovers, rumours and delays.

In this week's podcast we talk about faster mobile number porting, lower mobile termination rates, smartphone ownership, free Twitter access and the Apple iPad. In addition, Mark Bridge samples a variety of mobile social networking services on his wedding day.

This week's edition of The Fonecast packs in everything from mobile security to smart meters. There's also good news for mobile gamers, good news for old phones... and good news for anyone who's fed up with SMS spam.

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge look back at last week's Mobile News Awards and discuss the other industry headlines from the past seven days.

This week's podcast covers Wayfinder's closure, NFC mobile phones, Digital Britain delays... and an interview with Jim Bryan, co-founder and managing director of Retrieva Limited, whose company produces a tracking and anti-theft dog collar that combines GPS, GSM and RFID technologies.