Over 2 billion mobile phone and tablet users will make some form of mobile commerce transaction by the end of 2017, according to a new report from Juniper Research.

That’s up from an anticipated 1.6 billion people this year.

Facebook has announced its latest quarterly earnings figures and has also revealed details of the social network’s mobile-based users.

The number of monthly active users (MAUs) was up 15% year-on-year to 1.28 billion, with mobile MAUs up 34% to 1.01 billion.

Facebook has agreed to acquire virtual reality company Oculus VR in a deal worth approximately $2 billion (£1.2 billion).

Oculus VR has become well-known for its ‘immersive’ virtual reality technology, having received more than 75,000 development kit orders for its Oculus Rift 3D virtual reality headset.

Facebook has agreed to acquire cross-platform instant messaging app WhatsApp for around $16 billion (£9.6 billion).

The deal to buy the five-year-old company includes $4 billion in cash and around $12 billion in Facebook shares.

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?

We're looking at the latest mobile industry news and talking to Chris Caudle from the Independent Mobile Phone Dealers Association about his organisation's plans to resolve cashback problems. There's also a quick review of the new Samsung G810 multimedia phone.

This week's edition of 'The Fonecast' visits the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona with a special report from Mobile News online editor Mark Sennett. Iain Graham and Mark Bridge take their usual look at the latest mobile industry headlines - and there's a review of the forthcoming LG KF600 dual-screen phone.

This week's edition of 'The Fonecast' looks at all the latest mobile industry headlines, with a special focus on the proposed Microsoft & Yahoo! merger. We talk to Faisal Sheikh about faulty phones and also review the new Garmin nuvifone.

This week's edition of 'The Fonecast' investigates the recent boom in mobile broadband and USB modem sales by talking to the Commercial Product Manager for Hugh Symons Telecom. There's also a review of the Motorola MOTO U9 and the usual look at mobile industry headlines from the past 7 days.

This week the team look at the Nokia N82, talk to Adrian Foot of "The Phone Shop" about 3's connection policy, take a deeper look at unlocking and firmware upgrades, plus bring you the latest news and rumours.