Last February the European Commission said it wanted to see a universal charger introduced for mobile phones. It's a move that was supported by the GSMA, the ITU, the CTIA and a number of manufacturers.

The EC now says it expects the micro-USB socket to be used for charging on new phones from 2011. This will be standard on all new phones that are fitted with a mini-USB socket for data transfer with a PC.

ABI Research says that data usage in Western Europe and North America from 2009 until 2015 is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42% and 55% respectively.

However, this increase in data traffic is not being matched by a rise in data revenues for network operators. Mobile data revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of only 18% in North America, restricted in part by the popularity of 'unlimited' or 'fixed price' tariffs.

Ofcom is planning two more pan-European '116' helpline numbers for the UK.

Last year, 116000 was allocated to the Missing People service, 116111 to the NSPCC and 116123 to the Samaritans. These numbers work alongside the three organisations’ existing helpline numbers and are free of charge in the UK, whether called from a fixed line, a mobile or public phonebox.

Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, has urged mobile phone operators to raise parents' awareness of the potential risks faced by children who use smartphones, such as access to 'adult' content.

While welcoming the progress made by operators on their work to keep children safe while using mobile phones, she warned that parents were often "not as tuned into the latest developments in mobile phones as the younger generation".