UK communications regulator Ofcom has decided that the annual mobile fees for mobile operators will treble, following a government direction that the fees should reflect ‘full market value’.

Ofcom has concluded that mobile operators should pay a combined annual total of £199.6m per year for the 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrum bands.

Ofcom has changed the licences of the UK’s ‘big four’ mobile network operators to improve mobile coverage.

EE, O2, Three and Vodafone have all agreed to accept this change.

Vodafone has signed a 15-year agreement with outdoor advertising company JCDecaux to deploy ‘small cells’ on street furniture and billboards, which will improve network performance.

It’s a global deal that follows a successful pilot programme where Vodafone Netherlands installed over 160 small cells on bus shelters in Amsterdam.

EE has started introducing ‘micro network’ technology that can provide mobile coverage to remote areas.

However, unlike rival services - such as Vodafone’s Open Sure Signal - the EE rural micro network solution doesn’t require a broadband connection. Instead, it links to the main network wirelessly.

Time for another podcast presented by Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge. They begin this week's programme by talking about the latest enterprise-friendly developments from BlackBerry.

Next comes a new survey from Ofcom about the UK's 4G data speeds, followed by news about TalkTalk's MVNO deal with Telefonica, the growth of WiFi in the home and a report from AVG about social media sapping smartphone performance.

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?

This week Iain Graham, Mark Bridge and James Rosewell cover a wide range of industry headlines in The Fonecast, from dealer clawback and dodgy ads to irresponsible text messaging and internet search. There’s even time for a quick preview of the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 smartphone.

Iain Graham, Mark Bridge and James Rosewell discuss the latest mobile industry news in this week's edition of The Fonecast. There's also a feature about the new Nokia 'Comes With Music' service and a preview of the 8-megapixel LG KC910 camera phone.

In The Fonecast this week, host Iain Graham is joined by the usual team of Mark Bridge and James Rosewell for a look at the latest industry news. Iain talks to James Tagg, CEO of Truphone, about the mobile VoIP company’s plans for the future – plus there’s also time for a preview of the new Nokia N79.

Iain Graham, Mark Bridge and James Rosewell from the The Fonecast discuss the week's mobile industry headlines. They also look at the developments in Mobile VoIP and review the 5-megapixel LG KC550.

Iain Graham, Mark Bridge and James Rosewell celebrate the hundredth edition of The Fonecast this week. There's also an interview with James Browning from 20:20 Logistics, a review of the Samsung i8510 and a look at the week's industry headlines.