Ofcom’s annual Infrastructure Report update shows UK WiFi hotspot usage growing at a faster rate than mobile data.

It says the number of public WiFi hotspots across the UK has more than doubled in the past 12 months from 16,000 to 34,000. At the same time, the amount of data being sent or received by consumers using these hotspots has almost trebled.

LG Electronics has reported quarterly results that show the mobile communications part of its business moving from profit into loss for the first time since the same quarter last year.

Overall profit for the company was up year-on-year to 218 billion South Korean Won (£127 million), although down from the previous quarter.

Around 10,000 phones are stolen every month in London, according to the Metropolitan Police, with iPhones accounting for approximately half of all these handsets.

In total, about 50% of personal robbery offences and almost 80% of ‘theft from the person’ offences in the capital involve mobile phones.

David Heled writes:

The dependency on mobile phones is at an all-time high. Used for everything from the weekly grocery shop to monitoring heart rate, it’s no underestimation to say that we would be lost without our mobile phones. So when it takes days for your phone to be repaired, it has a considerable impact on your normal daily life.

UK regulator Ofcom has clarified the rules that allow customers to withdraw from a fixed-term contract if there is any change likely to be of ‘material detriment’.

It’s told fixed-line telephone, mobile phone and broadband service providers that any increase to the monthly subscription cost is likely to be regarded as such a change.