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 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:

“Hey, everybody, we’re releasing a new flagship smartphone that carries all the hopes of the company with it. If this sells well, we could be saved. If not, it could be disaster.”

“Great. What shall we call our new phone?”

“Oh, we’ll give it the same name as the previous model. That’ll be fine.”

Noam Green of Flash Networks writes:

The introduction and deployment of LTE networks offers real promise for both subscribers and operators worldwide. It brings the potential for revolutionary improvements in quality of experience for mobile broadband, and even faster downloads and video streaming.

The GSMA reported that 85,000 visitors attended Mobile World Congress this year, breaking all previous records for the show.

Andrew Skinner, Relationship Director of the Technology, Media & Telecoms team at Barclays, reflects on his time in Barcelona and some of the key themes to come out of this year’s show.

Mark Bridge writes:

Mobile phones have been hitting the mainstream news over the past few days. There was Channel 4’s report about data on second-hand phones not being properly deleted before the handsets were re-sold, there was the latest round of the Smart UK Project and there was Tim Muffett’s story about the mobile-enabled high street on BBC Breakfast this morning.

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.