The latest research from the comScore MobiLens service shows that one in eight European smartphone owners has completed a retail transaction on their mobile phone.

The study, which looked at mobile commerce across France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, noted that 19.5 million smartphone users across these ‘EU5’ countries had accessed retail content, with 75% of them conducting and completing a purchase. That’s over 14.5 million mobile shoppers across Europe.

Mobile phone coverage in the Channel Tunnel is now available for Eurostar and Le Shuttle customers travelling between France and England. Coverage in the opposite direction - from England to France - is due to be launched by UK network operators later this year.

The northbound service has been introduced by Eurotunnel and French mobile network operators Bouygues Telecom, Orange and SFR. It uses a GSM-P optical fibre system for 2G and 3G connectivity with equipment developed by Alcatel-Lucent.

Nomad Digital says it’ll be providing cross-channel Eurostar trains with WiFi throughout the journey from next year.

The company, which provides wireless technology for the transportation sector, was awarded the contract by Eurostar last September.

Visa Europe says its new online digital wallet service, V.me by Visa, will be available to a select group of consumers in the UK, Spain and France from autumn this year. Further details, including information about participating banks and retailers, will be announced soon.

V.me by Visa will let consumers add several different credit/debit cards to their digital wallet and then access the service via PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone.

In today’s edition of The Fonecast we’re taking a look at all the top mobile industry news stories from the last week.

As well as discussing mobile phone coverage on Eurotunnel and 4G service in the UK, the team also looks back at the highlights of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.