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:

With all the excitement about the partnership between Nokia and Microsoft, it's easy to forget another partnership between a major online brand and the Finnish mobile giant.

Exactly a year ago, Yahoo! and Nokia announced a worldwide strategic alliance that would see Nokia providing Yahoo!'s maps and navigation services under the Ovi brand, while Yahoo! would power Nokia's Ovi Mail and Ovi Chat services. The two companies would also work on sharing log-in details across Yahoo! and Ovi services.

Mark Bridge writes:

The phenomenon of 'apocalypse sex' is often seen in movies, comedy shows and advertisements. The end of the world's just around the corner so… hey… what the heck?

I reckon it shares the same emotional basis as being 'demob happy' or having that 'end of term feeling' at school.

And that feeling seems to be in plentiful supply at Nokia HQ in Espoo.

Iain Graham, Mark Bridge and James Rosewell look at the week's mobile industry headlines, listen to Maria Sharapova talk about designing accessories and preview the fashionable Nokia 7610 Supernova.

This week’s edition of The Fonecast looks at the Motorola ZN5 camera phone and talks about mobile industry news from the last seven days - including termination rates, Symbian and international growth.

This week The Fonecast reviews the 8 megapixel Sony Ericsson C905 Cyber-shot that offers a real alternative to a digital camera. Iain, Mark and James also find time to bring you the latest news and views from around the mobile industry.

This week the team reviews the Nokia E71, talks to Ian White about The Fone Academy and brings you the latest news and views from the mobile industry.

The new 3G Apple iPhone is released... and The Fonecast takes a close look at the specifications. You’ll also hear the rest of the week’s news headlines, along with a conversation about box breaking with independent dealer Adrian Foot.