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.

David Akka writes:

The issue of choosing the right MDM solution has become more and more pressing, especially for companies implementing a Bring Your Own Device policy. The market place is becoming increasingly crowded with 50 or so vendors who now position themselves as MDMs. Some vendors offer application sharing, some multitenant management, other vendors have a heritage in security or a different strength all together. For organisations considering which option is best it is important to discern between the best known names or the most expensive solutions and select an MDM solution that is fit for purpose.

Tracy Dempsey of Sensum writes:

Northern Irish start-up Sensum gave audiences a taste of the future at the world's largest mobile industry conference in Barcelona last week.

Sensum co-creator Shane McCourt was invited to present the Sensum audience insights platform to a 1,000-strong crowd at the “Back to the Future: Mobile Innovation 2023” conference session at Mobile World Congress 2013.

Mark Bridge writes:

As Mobile World Congress 2013 disappears behind us, so the frenzy of news releases about new products and services returns to relatively normal levels.

Satish Shetty of Codeproof Technologies writes:

Don’t underestimate the security of your smartphone. Here are 4 important but easy security tips to secure your iPhone, iPad, Android phone and Tablet devices.

Mark Bridge writes:

At Mobile World Congress 2012 I spent quite a bit of time talking about quad-core smartphones. The year before had seen a fair amount of 3D screen technology. Back in 2010 it was the growth of apps. This year I wasn’t hearing so much about mobile device innovation.

It's time for another news-packed mobile industry podcast from TheFonecast.com, starting with the European Parliament's latest ruling on in-car emergency communication.

After that we're talking about Microsoft's departure from the Nook eBook business, Three UK's 4G growth, Acer's tablet-sized phone, EE's rural coverage solution and some interesting new research about mobile-enabled customer service.

This week we're talking about two big announcements from BlackBerry: a luxury smartphone and some major management changes.

We also discuss the latest Samsung/Apple patent ruling, Vodafone's new mobile wallet, Android licensing, Doro's anti-virus deal, BYOD and the rise of the 'selfie'.

The past few days have been a good time for launches. Twitter has floated on the stock exchange, Kazam has revealed its smartphone range and EE has created a tariff with a million gigabytes of mobile data.

On the other side of the coin, Acer's CEO is quitting, Vodafone UK has missed its 3G coverage target and hackers can take control of your handset's camera to ascertain PIN codes.

We're back after a short break last week - and just in time for three of the biggest industry news stories of the year.

Microsoft's CEO announces his retirement, then Vodafone sells its US operation for $130 billion... and now Nokia's mobile phone business is being bought. Alongside these reports there's also time to talk about 4G in the UK, children with mobiles, roaming charges and the future of smartphones.

Although last week's Apple iPhone 5 announcement dominated the headlines, there's still plenty more to talk about.

We have a prediction about the billionth Android handset, we look at Acer's cancelled smartphone launch and we discuss the growth of mobile messaging.