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:

A suggestion that UK mobile phone networks might be forced to improve black-spot coverage by allowing interconnection with their rivals is back in the news. It made the headlines in June and has returned again this week, which is why I could be heard offering my opinion on BBC local radio yesterday morning.

Mark Bridge writes:

The two-year mobile phone contract has almost become a standard, despite EU efforts to make it a worst-case scenario. I went into the Brighton branch of Carphone Warehouse today and was told I couldn't upgrade to a 12-month contract. Last year I could; now they would only offer me a 24-month deal.

Mark Bridge writes:

Patents were a very popular topic of conversation last week. Google sold its Motorola Mobility smartphone business to Lenovo but hung on to most of the patents. Does this mean the patents were the most valuable part of the business? Well, when you look at the difference between the original purchase price and the sale price, it seems a reasonable conclusion.

Mark Bridge writes:

A new report has highlighted the issue of poor mobile phone coverage in rural Sussex villages. BBC Sussex invited me onto their ‘Sussex Breakfast’ radio show to explain what could be done - and, as usual, I made enough notes for a lecture rather than a three-minute interview.

Here’s what I would have liked to have said if I’d been given a disproportionate amount of time to talk.

Mark Bridge writes:

Great news for mobile phone users. Ofcom’s new rules preventing unexpected mid-contract price rises came into force last week, which means UK consumers can no longer be surprised by their subscription charge increasing while they’re still locked into a minimum-term deal.

This week in The Fonecast we interview Quore MD Ronojay Nag. In addition, there's the usual look at industry news and rumours from the last 7 days, plus a review of the Sony Ericsson Z555i.

In this week’s edition of The Fonecast we take an extended look at the week's industry news headlines and gossip, including Arun Sarin's departure from Vodafone and 3's termination charge appeal. Plus we also find time to review the Samsung F490 widescreen mobile phone.

This week’s edition of The Fonecast includes our regular look at industry news headlines and gossip from the last 7 days. Mobile News editorial director Ian White talks about a press release that’s been troubling him, plus there's a preview of the Motorola MOTO Z10 video-focussed smartphone.

On The Fonecast this week, Faisal Sheikh talks to Iain Graham about his new "Love Your Mobile" TV show. We take our usual look at the week's industry news headlines, plus there's a preview of the HTC Touch Diamond smartphone.

In this week's edition of The Fonecast you’ll hear an interview with Shaun Gregory, the UK CEO of Blyk, about the company’s achievements and its plans. The team also takes its usual look at the latest mobile news headlines, plus there’s a quick review of the new Nokia 6600 slide.