A mobile health system from Telefónica is being given a tough real-world test by four diabetic people who are climbing to the base camp of Mount Everest.

Each member of the expedition, which is being led by climber and astronaut Josu Feijoo, will carry a glucometer and a tablet device with an m-health application. Internet connectivity for the tablet will be provided via WiFi from a satellite terminal.

There are plenty of quarterly results to report in this week's edition of The Fonecast, including Samsung, Apple, Telefonica and Facebook. In addition, we have new research that shows how smartphone sales are racing ahead as feature phone sales slow down.

There's also news about mobile coverage in the Channel Tunnel, mobile application downloads and m-commerce.

Telefonica has reported net profit of 1,327 million Euro (£1,041 million) for the second quarter of its financial year. That’s an increase from the previous quarter but over 13% down on the same quarter in 2011.

The company has temporarily suspended its dividend payment for 2012 and has cut its directors’ pay by 20%.

UK regulator Ofcom has published its plans for the launch of 4G mobile phone and mobile broadband service. It’s aiming to start the 4G spectrum auction by the end of this year.

The proposed sale will offer 80% more radio spectrum than the 2000 UK 3G auction and is equivalent to three-quarters of the mobile spectrum in use today.

Mark Bridge writes:

BlackBerry and bad news seem inextricably linked at the moment. RIM’s CEO admits he’s “not satisfied” with recent company performance and warns of challenging times ahead... and then the company is hit by a $147 million dollar damages order for patent infringement.

Mind you, Research In Motion wasn’t the only mobile company bringing disappointment into the mainstream news last week.