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:

Every time a British citizen finds themselves in trouble abroad – whether the problem is pirates, police, having a drink or having a cuddle – it’s very likely someone somewhere will say “you should have checked first”.

That’s sensible advice when it comes to looking at the FCO website… but an extra reminder about checking the legality of your technology came this week when biofuel bus driver Andy Pag was arrested in India for using a satellite phone.

James Rosewell writes:

If you work for a sizeable organisation it’s 65% likely your email, contacts, calendar and task list will all reside on a Microsoft Exchange server. That’s quite a lot of mobile phones to connect and synchronise with Exchange. Microsoft has a solution called ActiveSync now supported by Nokia, Apple and a few others. RIM requires a server that IT departments need to install to allow their BlackBerry users to access these features.

Android has been left behind when it comes to accessing ActiveSync.

James Rosewell writes:

Last week I decided to use my own hard earned money to buy the latest high-end HTC smartphone running Android 2.1 in the form of the Google Nexus One. I’ve not used an Android-based device as my main phone for some time so was keen to understand the improvements to the operating system and see for myself how fast the Snapdragon processor really is.

Mark Bridge writes:

So you’re stuck at home because the snow’s made your journey to work too hazardous?  Or perhaps you just needed a little peace and quiet to finish an important project?

Well, technology can certainly make your life easier – but how can you make the best of it?  Here are my top ten tips… all gathered from personal experience. So switch on your BlackBerry, connect to your VPN and let’s do some telecommuting.

Mark Bridge writes:

To my mind, the Google Nexus One is just another Android-powered handset. It’s a very good Android-powered handset – and one that might dissuade me from my planned upgrade to a Motorola Milestone – but in reality it’s only another phone.

And, as I mentioned yesterday, I don’t think Google’s method of selling the phone is going to transform mobile retailing. Well, no more than the internet is doing already.

Because that’s not why the Nexus One has been created.

In this week's podcast we're talking about the potential purchase of the O2 UK mobile network by BT.

We also discuss new tablets from Nokia and Jolla, the end of a patent battle, mobile payments via instant messaging, app development for the Apple Watch and plans to make even more spectrum available for mobile broadband in the UK .

Time for another podcast presented by Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge. They begin this week's programme by talking about the latest enterprise-friendly developments from BlackBerry.

Next comes a new survey from Ofcom about the UK's 4G data speeds, followed by news about TalkTalk's MVNO deal with Telefonica, the growth of WiFi in the home and a report from AVG about social media sapping smartphone performance.

The new Apple iPad tablets, Google's latest Nexus devices, Android Lollipop, wearable tech from will.i.am and the world's slimmest smartphone all feature in this week's podcast.

We're also talking about free mobile data for Christmas, 4.5G technology being rolled out in the UK, 5G technology being tested in South Korea, the end of an era for webOS and video messages that self-destruct.

This week's podcast begins with Ofcom's plans to cut the wholesale cost of inter-network mobile phone calls. But what benefit will consumers see?

Iain, James and Mark then move on to discuss luxury smartphones, a new handset on the high street, mobile broadband for aircraft passengers, government monitoring, the growth of smartphones - and 4G-equipped donkeys.

This podcast contains the audience question-and-answer session from 'Cloud Computing and Mobile'; a Mobile Monday London event held on 12th May 2014.

The discussion was chaired by Camille Mendler, Principal Analyst at Informa, with a panel that comprised Rob Easton of Google, Dr Janko Mrsic-Flogel from Private Planet, Caroline Van Den Bergh of Golden Gekko and Jonathan Raper from TransportAPI.com.