A new research report from Berg Insight says the number of smart electricity meters in Europe will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 19.4% for the next five years to reach 130.5 million in 2016. That means 52% of European houses will have smart meters.

By this time, over €3 billion per year is expected to be spent on smart metering technology.

Apple's lawyers have sent independent application store GetJar a 'cease and desist' notice that asks GetJar to stop using the term "app store". There's currently a similar legal challenge between Amazon and Apple.

GetJar Chief Marketing Officer Patrick Mork has responded with a blog post that said he's surprised and disappointed with Apple's C&D notice.

Mark Bridge writes:

The public telephone box is disappearing as mobile phone coverage improves. In 2002, there were 92,000 BT phone boxes in the UK. Today, there are a total of 51,500 payphones… including 11,000 traditional red boxes. In order to preserve the appearance of rural life - if not the landline connection - BT has been asking parish councils across the UK if they'd like to adopt their local kiosk. Just £1 lets a community keep its red BT phone box (with the payphone taken out)… and 1,500 have been adopted so far.

Vodafone UK has published a statement in response to what it describes as employee 'bribery' allegations.

It reads "Vodafone UK launched a thorough investigation at the time of the original allegations against journalists in 2006 and did not find that any employees were involved in any wrongdoing."

Mark Bridge writes:

Roaming charges are back in the news this week. Not the latest round of price cuts (or, to be technically correct, lower price caps) but the European Commission's plans for the future. As well as continuing the downward pricing trend for a few more years, Neelie Kroes also wants wholesale interconnection at capped rates and the option of a separate 'roaming contract' when you travel abroad.