New research published by WiFi provider The Cloud shows that more than 10 million Brits use public WiFi each week via smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices.

That figure, which comes from data collected by market research company Canadean in November 2012, equates to 22% of the UK adult population.

One of the biggest companies meeting the UK's demand for public WiFi is The Cloud, which has spent the last few years putting its network into thousands of venues.

In this programme we interview Vince Russell, managing director of The Cloud, to discover what the company's doing... and to see whether mobile operators should be worried.

UK pub company Punch Taverns has arranged a deal with The Cloud to install free WiFi into its pubs.

A number of its properties already have WiFi; they will now be transferred onto the new arrangement, which includes Punch covering the landlord’s running costs for two years.

O2 says its UK network carried over 440 million SMS text messages on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, which was a 10% increase on last year’s figures.

In addition, over 200 million calls were made via O2 UK during the 48-hour period.

The City of London Corporation has extended its partnership with WiFi provider The Cloud, enabling anyone to enjoy unlimited free WiFi inside the ‘Square Mile’ financial district.

There’s been a free WiFi service available in the City of London since 2007, although until now it’s only been free for the first 15 minutes. A temporary arrangement to provide unlimited access during the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games saw user numbers almost double compared with the previous three months.

Mark Bridge writes:

I spend much of my time writing about telecommunications and technology. I spend a fair amount of time dealing with big technology-related companies. Yet although I understand many aspects of telecoms, I certainly wouldn’t want to run one of those businesses. It’s a question of relevant experience.

Apps World 2012 takes place on Tuesday 2nd October and Wednesday 3rd October at the Earls Court 2 exhibition centre this year. It combines an exhibition with workshops and conference sessions designed for mobile developers, marketers, network operators, manufacturers and other mobile industry professionals.

In addition, there’s an award event - the Appsters awards - with a drinks reception and party at The Roof Gardens in Kensington on the Tuesday night.

Mark Bridge writes:

BlackBerry and bad news seem inextricably linked at the moment. RIM’s CEO admits he’s “not satisfied” with recent company performance and warns of challenging times ahead... and then the company is hit by a $147 million dollar damages order for patent infringement.

Mind you, Research In Motion wasn’t the only mobile company bringing disappointment into the mainstream news last week.

Mark Bridge writes:

Every so often, I see a new product that I’d like to review. I’ll usually send a note to the relevant company, borrow a review copy and send it back when I’ve finished.

And every so often I’ll be approached by a company that wants me to review a product. Sometimes I’ll say yes, sometimes I’ll say no. It all depends whether or not I think I’m the right person for the job.

When IntSig offered me a copy of a mobile application called CamScanner, I wasn’t too sure. It seemed very clever... but I wasn’t convinced I’d have much use for it.

Mark Bridge writes:

Just a few weeks ago WiFi was made available on a number of London Underground stations - yet mobile coverage still stops when you go down the escalator.

So why is it taking so long for us to get mobile phone service on the Tube?

For an insight into some of the challenges and the possible solutions I spoke to Ian Brown, CEO of Axell Wireless. The company is a leader when it comes to providing additional wireless coverage in confined spaces - from tunnels to sports stadiums - and is currently involved in the project to install mobile phone service on the Channel Tunnel.

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.