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.

Rachel McCormack writes:

Mobile point of sale transactions (mPOS) are growing in popularity as mobile use takes over from desktop computers. The description of ‘mobile’ point of sale transactions denotes the ability of a payment to be taken via smartphone or tablet rather than a traditional card reader. There are many different ways to do this; mobile chip & PIN, mobile swipe & sign and NFC payments. All of these methods vary in popularity and security conceptions and many are difficult to understand. In this article we will explore each and give you the chance to understand the technology and issues surrounding the various methods.

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.