Telecoms comparison site Cable.co.uk has looked at the cost of using 1GB of mobile data in 230 countries, analysing over 6,000 mobile data plans. It says Israel is the cheapest country for mobile data, with the UK in 78th place.

Israeli telecoms company Accel Telecom has launched what it’s described as the ‘first standalone connected car smartphone’ at Mobile World Congress.

The company’s VOYAGER device can be installed in any car and requires its own SIM card, enabling it to be used with an existing phone number on networks that offer ‘multi-SIM’ working.

Mark Bridge writes:

Advertising is already personal. Browse online for certain products and services – perhaps a new camera, a car hire deal or a pair of jeans – and you’ll see the same items advertised when you visit other web sites.

Marketing technology company Pontis, based in the high-tech industrial zone of Ra'anana in central Israel, has a much more focussed perspective. It talks about a segment-of-one marketing approach… and it’s just started working with O2 in the UK.

CellEra, an Israeli company that is developing platinum-free fuel cell technology, has announced a $9.2 million investment round led by Vodafone Ventures and Carmel Ventures.

Vodafone Ventures is the global venture capital arm of Vodafone Group.

Mark Bridge writes:

Almost everyone in the mobile telecoms industry seems to be looking for a perfect payment system that'll transform their mobile phone into some kind of electronic wallet. Yet despite many trial schemes – and a few commercial launches – cards and cash are still favoured by consumers and retailers in much of the world.

Here’s an edited transcript of our new monthly podcast, broadcast on 30th January 2015.

[Iain Graham]: Hello, it's Friday 30th January 2015. Welcome to this month's edition of The Fonecast. That’s right, you heard correctly: we’ve temporarily moved to a monthly format. If you’d like to join 51Degrees in sponsoring the podcast and returning us to weekly programmes, please get in touch via our website. Now, on with the show.

Mark Bridge writes:

What’s the secret of Apple’s success? That’s the question I was asked earlier this week by LBC radio during a report on Apple’s impressive iPhone sales and its record quarterly results.

So here are six reasons I think Apple is doing so well at the moment.

Mark Bridge writes:

If you listen to this week’s edition of The Fonecast - in which we predict what’ll be happening in the mobile telecoms industry during 2015 - you’ll hear James Rosewell say that BlackBerry’s handset business is doomed. Well, actually that’s not quite true.

Jon Carter of Deutsche Telekom has provided us with his ‘Connected Home’ predictions for 2015:

Connected home products and services rely on different communication standards, be it ZigBee, HomeMatic or Z-Wave. Only platforms which both handle established standards and are able to learn new protocols will hold their ground in the market in 2015. Customers don’t want to be limited in their product choices or care about compatibility issues. Integrating any device into a connected home setup needs to be smooth and simple.

Mark Windle of OpenCloud writes:

In 2014, operators focussed on rolling out LTE, but some have lost sight of the bigger picture. 2015 will see traditional telecoms services delivered over multiple access technologies, of which LTE is just a part. As next year fast approaches, our predictions take a step back and look at how the industry will adapt to the changing landscape.

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return to review their mobile industry predictions from last year. Which mergers, partnerships and developments did they forecast correctly... and which didn’t work out as planned?

Later in the programme, the team anticipates some of the topics that will be hitting the headlines during 2016.

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

They discuss the state of mobile retailing in the UK, the future of wearable devices and - as you might expect - smartphones for seniors.

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.