Vodafone Germany and mobile security specialist Giesecke & Devrient have revealed an end-to-end encryption service based on a customer’s SIM card.

The service, which is called Secure SIM Data, can be used to encrypt and sign emails, documents, data carriers and VPN connections.

Figures from ABI Research show that mobile phone producers based in China will account for over 50% of mobile handsets in 2015.

Chinese manufacturers were responsible for 38% of handset shipments last year, with growth in low-cost smartphones boosting this market share.

A new industry-wide mobile payment service says its final testing is on track and it’ll announce a launch date next month.

Once the Paym service is launched, consumers will be able to transfer money to someone else’s bank account by using their mobile phone number instead of a sort code and account number.

Mark Bridge writes:

As one show closes, so another show opens.

It’s now more than a week since we bid a sad farewell to Mobile World Congress 2014 – I imagine hotel rooms for 2nd to 5th March 2015 are already being booked – but there’s now CeBIT in Germany to look forward to. Prime Minister David Cameron kicked things off last night with a speech that talked about UK-German partnerships, more funding for research around the ‘Internet of Things’ and the development of 5G technology.

In a speech opening the CeBIT international IT and telecom trade show in Hanover, UK Prime Minister David Cameron has said the UK should be working more closely with Germany on 5G mobile technology, the Internet of Things and the ‘digital’ European single market.

He’s announced £45 million of new funding for research in areas linked to the ‘Internet of Things’ and new collaboration between the University of Dresden, London-based King’s College University and the University of Surrey to develop 5G.