Mark Bridge writes:

The idea of a free mobile phone network is a dream for many consumers – and potentially a nightmare for traditional mobile operators. Most notably we saw Blyk launch an ad-funded network in the UK five years ago, with the MVNO closing in 2009 as the company’s business model changed.

In this week’s podcast feature I’ve been talking to someone who’s just launched a brand new mobile service that’s giving away calls, text messages and data in return for advertising. The company is Ovivo Mobile, it launched last month and it’s currently targeting students to sign up.

Mark Bridge writes:

This was going to be my best-ever mobile phone review... and I wasn’t even going to use the handset. But all my plans fell apart because my mother wouldn’t let me do it.

Don’t get me wrong, I hadn’t planned an elaborate ‘theatre-not-journalism’ piece of creative writing and I’m not tied to anyone’s apron strings. I was going to give mum a mobile phone to test.

Mark Bridge writes:

Cortado was founded in 1999 as ‘ThinPrint’, with the company’s expansion beyond wireless printing leading it to change its name.

This week it’s expanded even further, combining its cloud desktop services with mobile device management. The result is Cortado Corporate Server 6.0, a new service that enables organisations to offer their staff secure, managed mobile access to corporate files.

Mark Bridge writes:

As summer approaches, so the media’s interest in mobile phone roaming increases. Once again, the maximum price of calls and texts when abroad in Europe is falling – but this year there’s something different on the horizon. The European parliament has just approved the EU’s plans to introduce a price cap for mobile data... and in a couple of years’ time we’ll be able to choose a completely separate network to help cut roaming costs.

Mark Bridge writes:

Facebook is killing off SMS traffic and SMS revenue for mobile networks, according to a new research note from Strand Consult. It says the ‘golden days’ of messaging growth are over as consumers increasingly use Facebook to keep in touch.

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.