UK-based communications service specialist Azzurri Communications has appointed Chris Jagusz as its new Chief Executive Officer. He’ll join at the end of the summer.

Mr Jagusz was previously Managing Director at SSE Telecoms.

Managed communications service specialist Azzurri Communications says its CEO is stepping down at the end of the current financial year.

It follows a refinancing process that saw the company’s ‘senior debt’ reduced to £25 million from around £103 million.

New research commissioned by Azzurri Communications and carried out by Vanson Bourne has found that most medium and large-sized UK businesses are already using or planning to use Unified Communications.

In total, 76% of respondents said they were pursuing a UC strategy.

Azzurri Communications, which provides voice, data and mobile managed services in the UK, has announced the completion of its planned refinancing process. It says this puts the business in a strong and stable position, with new funding facilities to run until June 2014.

In addition, it’s made some new senior appointments.

The second quarter of this year was the best quarter ever for connections via the O2 UK 'partner channel', according to a statement from the company today. Blackberry connections through partners also reached a new quarterly high, as did connections via O2 Centre of Excellence partners and both of O2's strategic partners (Avenir and Azzurri).

Mark Bridge writes:

I was on the radio for a few minutes this morning. Nick Ferrari on LBC 97.3 FM was talking to me about a recent survey that noted a rise in blood pressure when people received calls on their mobile phones. As I waited to go on-air, a producer asked me what I thought. “Storm in a teacup”, I said. Well, it seemed better than “Makes my blood boil”.

Michael Scaturro of voanews.com writes:

A team of Americans and Kenyans has developed a new Internet router - and it's creating buzz. That's because it is an affordable, reliable solution for people without consistent Internet access. It can run while plugged in or on battery power, jump between networks at will, and become a mobile hotspot for multiple devices. The team presented the device - called the Brck [pronounced Brick] - at the Re:publica tech conference in Berlin.

Mark Bridge writes:

Nokia has had a busy few days. First came the Asha 501, a ‘smartphone lite’ that introduced developers to a new version of the company’s Asha platform. This was followed by the Lumia 928, which is a Windows Phone 8 handset exclusive to Verizon Wireless in the USA. It’s quite like the Nokia 920, so we’re not missing out too much.

Joe DeCapua of voanews.com writes:

Mobile phone use in Africa has spread far, wide and fast. By the end of last year, it was estimated that 70 percent of the population would have a mobile phone. Now, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says it’s using the technology to save lives.

Kate Woodsome of voanews.com writes:

When Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, died in 1922, the sound of his voice was lost to all but who knew him. Until now.

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.