New rules from UK telecoms regulator Ofcom will protect customers when they use their mobile phone on a foreign network. In addition, customers will be alerted if they are inadvertently roaming, perhaps because they're near an international border.

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.

Mark Bridge writes:

Those quarterly figures keep coming. In our Wednesday podcast we talked about Apple and Nokia – and since then we’ve heard from Everything Everywhere, LG, Motorola, Samsung (with its multi-million selling Galaxy S II), Telefonica and Virgin Media. Each had something positive to stay, although some were more convincing than others.

Mark Bridge writes:

You could probably describe Burnside Telecom as the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer. No, not production volumes - but the physical size of its products.

This UK-based designer and manufacturer produces a variety of mobile devices, from office-style 'desktop mobile phones' to the type of rugged outdoor telephone used at railway crossings.

Mark Bridge writes:

We have a new "mobile phone cancer" report to read - but, despite the headline, it offers no concrete reassurance or firm proof.

The main problem, as we've said on many occasions, is that proving 'absolute safety' is nigh-on impossible... particularly when the technology and the usage patterns keep changing.

Welcome to The Fonecast. We reckon we're the UK mobile phone industry's best-kept secret.

If this is the first time you’ve heard of us, we're podcasters and news reporters. Every Wednesday we produce a podcast - an online radio show - that brings you up to speed with everything that's been happening in the mobile business. And every Friday we take a closer look at a specific news story, a company, a product or a mobile trend.

Mark Bridge writes:

We've had a week packed with financial figures. Microsoft, Vodafone and Qualcomm were all relatively upbeat with their quarterly results. A 'thrilled' Apple shipped over 20 million iPhones in yet another record quarter, while Nokia shipped less than 17 million smartphones (and almost 72 million other mobile phones) in its 'disappointing' quarter.

There's plenty of variety in The Fonecast this week. We start the podcast with news of MeeGo's resurrection by Finnish smartphone company Jolla before talking about a mobile network that’s giving away mobile data whenever its customers watch video advertisements.

There's also time to discuss Telefonica's recent deals, the rise of free WiFi availability, tablet-related legal action, malware in the Apple App Store and the truth behind a recent 'exploding mobile phone' story.

In this special feature we're talking to Ian Brown from Axell Wireless about mobile phone coverage on the London Underground.

WiFi is now available on a number of London Underground stations - so why is it taking so long to arrange mobile phone service on the Tube?

This week's edition of The Fonecast takes a look at the new Google Nexus 7 tablet, wonders what's next for RIM and awaits the arrival of the forthcoming Firefox mobile platform.

There's also talk about HTC's partnership with Pioneer, Vodafone's European reorganisation, the new BT WiFi brand, Ofcom complaints, tariff problems and international roaming.

In this week's podcast we're talking about the forthcoming Windows Phone 8 mobile operating system, the UK launch of the Amazon Appstore and the GSMA's plans to make international roaming easier to understand.

There's also time to discuss new mobile tariffs from Virgin Media, cars that call for help after an accident, some mobile shopping research and LG's future as a tablet manufacturer.

Iain Graham visits Faisal Sheikh of London-based Fone Doctors in today's audio feature.

They talk about the recent Fone Doctors relocation to new offices near London Bridge and Faisal's plans for a franchise outlet at Liverpool Street station before moving on to discuss training, customer service, the rise of the tablet and the demise of customer service.