BlackBerry CEO John Chen has said he thinks ‘net neutrality’ - preventing telecoms networks from restricting or prioritising certain types of internet traffic - should go further than just network operators and service providers.

In a letter to the US government (later published as a blog post) he says that neutrality should also be mandated for content and applications.

It’s reported that EE is refunding around £1 million to customers who were charged VAT in error. People who travelled outside Europe and used their phones to go online were apparently charged VAT, although this should only apply to usage inside the EU.

Only 0.5% of EE’s customers were affected by the problem, which happened because the company’s billing system hadn’t been set up correctly.

Sajid Javid MP, the UK Government Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, has announced what’s described as a “landmark deal” with the ‘big four’ mobile networks to improve coverage.

It follows a three-week consultation period that involved the government proposing mandated ‘national roaming’ as one of the options to improve rural coverage in areas where some networks provided service but others didn’t.

UK communications regulator Ofcom says Sharon White will become its new Chief Executive from late March next year.

She’s currently Second Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury, where she is responsible for managing public finance.

It's time for another news-packed mobile industry podcast from TheFonecast.com, starting with the European Parliament's latest ruling on in-car emergency communication.

After that we're talking about Microsoft's departure from the Nook eBook business, Three UK's 4G growth, Acer's tablet-sized phone, EE's rural coverage solution and some interesting new research about mobile-enabled customer service.