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:

It's hardly worth mentioning the new iPad, is it?  Not because I'm unimpressed – although I'd describe it as more of an upgrade than a brand-new product – but because everyone else has been talking about it so much. And we'll be doing some more talking in Wednesday's podcast, so let’s move on...

Mark Bridge writes:

"Harder, better, faster, stronger". Okay, so it's a lyric from Daft Punk (or Kanye West, if you prefer) but it might as well be the vague design brief for second-generation tablets.

Vidushi Sinha of voanews.com writes:

A new study finds that an hour-long cell phone call causes a spike in biochemical activity in the user's brain. The researchers can't say whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, but the finding has renewed the debate over cell phone safety and raised calls for more health studies.

Mark Bridge writes:

When I arrived at Mobile World Congress earlier this month, I said I wanted to see a bit of everything. Ground-breaking devices, advanced technology, network innovation... and some original applications as well. What I didn't realise was that I could find all of those in one place, on the SK Telecom stand.

Mark Bridge writes:

For many people, the week after Mobile World Congress has a flat, post-Christmas, post-holiday feeling.

But not here at The Fonecast. We’ve produced two extra podcasts this week – themed around mobile audio and mobile usability – and there are more interviews from MWC lined up for next week.

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.