Mark Bridge writes:

Ring-back tones offer consumers yet another way to customise their mobile phone service. Yet despite this – and the revenue opportunities they provide – many mobile network operators don’t offer them.

Recently I spoke to Florent Stroppa, General Manager Europe for value-added service specialist OnMobile, to find out why the UK doesn’t really seem to be bothered about ring-back tones… and whether the next-generation of ring-back services will change this.

Onavo, which offers a number of data compression and monitoring apps for mobile devices, has announced that it’s becoming part of Facebook.

The three-year-old company also offers a market intelligence service based on mobile usage data.

The UK government has announced plans for faster and better mobile broadband connections on railway journeys.

Mobile signal on the busiest parts of the rail network will be improved by upgrading Network Rail’s existing infrastructure and installing new ‘Mobile Communications Gateway’ equipment on trains.

UK telecom regulator Ofcom has published a consultation about authorising satellite-powered broadband systems that can provide internet connections on moving vehicles, including aircraft, ships, coaches and trains.

These systems, which are known as Earth Stations on Mobile Platforms (ESOMPs), can outperform cellular signals and current satellite-based internet connections on moving vehicles.

A new report conducted by WIK and Aegis for the European Commission has found that 71% of all EU wireless data traffic last year was delivered to smartphones and tablets using WiFi.

This could rise to 78% by 2016, the report claims, with consumers increasingly using their mobile devices at home or work.