The European Parliament has voted to end mobile phone roaming charges from 15th December 2015 as part of a package of proposals that also promises ‘net neutrality’.

It means that customers travelling to other EU countries from the UK wouldn’t pay any additional cost for making calls, receiving calls, sending text messages or using mobile internet services when abroad.

Nokia says it expects to complete the sale of its Devices & Services business to Microsoft in April, rather than its original expectation of ‘the first quarter of 2014’.

Although Nokia and Microsoft have received regulatory approval from the European Commission and the US Department of Justice, they’re still waiting for approvals from some competition authorities in Asia.

Members of the European Parliament have voted on new laws that could see a common type of charger being developed for all mobile phones sold in the EU. The vote also set out new rules for the use of radio spectrum and avoiding potential interference.

This move would cut costs and reduce waste, although it still needs to be formally approved and would then be followed by a three-year period before manufacturers were legally obliged to comply.

A Hallowe’en-themed video ad by UK virtual mobile network giffgaff was likely to offend or distress viewers, according to the Advertising Standards Authority.

It upheld a number of complaints about the ‘Different Takes Guts’ advertisement on YouTube.

After catching up with last week's Microsoft announcement about new CEO Satya Nadella, we go on to talk about big changes for Brightstar and Sony as well.

There's also mobile payment news from MasterCard and Weve, some patent agreements, a warning about second-hand smartphone sales, a forecast of mobile data growth and a report about app developers.