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.

Mark Bridge writes:

Mobile World Congress is just a week away, with lovers of mobile technology preparing to be wooed by manufacturers, networks and developers. But if MWC is like St Valentine’s Day, then LG has been behaving rather like the world’s worst boyfriend.

Mark Bridge writes:

Mobile phones have been hitting the mainstream news over the past few days. There was Channel 4’s report about data on second-hand phones not being properly deleted before the handsets were re-sold, there was the latest round of the Smart UK Project and there was Tim Muffett’s story about the mobile-enabled high street on BBC Breakfast this morning.

Mark Bridge writes:

Patents were a very popular topic of conversation last week. Google sold its Motorola Mobility smartphone business to Lenovo but hung on to most of the patents. Does this mean the patents were the most valuable part of the business? Well, when you look at the difference between the original purchase price and the sale price, it seems a reasonable conclusion.

Mark Bridge writes:

Sometimes I worry that I’m turning into a grumpy old man. That I’ll follow the path of Rick Wakeman and become better known for my views on body piercing than for playing ‘The Six Wives of Henry VIII’ on eleven keyboards simultaneously.

Mark Bridge writes:

There was great news for some BlackBerry owners this week. The new 10.2.1 update to the BlackBerry 10 OS was released, offering a new incoming call screen, SMS and email groups, more options for locking and unlocking, extra battery usage information, enterprise features and - for customers with a BlackBerry Z30, BlackBerry Q10 or BlackBerry Q5 smartphone - an FM radio.

We start this week's podcast with Apple's announcement about the new version of its iOS platform - and follow this with a look at the privacy concerns surrounding the US government's PRISM operation.

Next come Samsung's new phones, Ericsson's new contract, a potential end to European roaming charges, some sophisticated mobile malware and plenty of other news stories as well.

In our 30-minute podcast this week we're talking about the OFT's app investigation, Ofcom's plans for premium rate calls and the growth of Android malware.

We also discuss Microsoft's complaint about Google, an increase in mobile advertising and 'hacking' aircraft navigation using a smartphone.

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.

Eddy Willems, Security Evangelist at G Data, talks about mobile security threats. With the amount of mobile malware reported to have increased by 273% this year, Eddy explains what smartphone users can do - and what the mobile industry should be doing, too.

In this week's podcast we're joined by David Emm from Kaspersky Lab UK to talk about malware on mobile phones. And, as usual, we take a look at the latest mobile industry headlines - from pricey tariffs to an unlimited internet deal.