Mark Bridge writes:

Two years ago we talked to Mark Smith about a new company he’d just launched. It was called ipadio and it offered a straightforward proposition: you made a phone call and ipadio would turn it into a live online broadcast with a permanent online recording - either as a free service for consumers or as a premium service for businesses.

This week I caught up with Mark again and started our conversation by asking him what had changed.

Mark Bridge writes:

Today’s podcast feature is a personal look at the cost of mobile ‘roaming’ in France.

At the beginning of July 2011 the rate for European roaming charges fell to a maximum of 38p per minute (incl. VAT) for calls made while abroad in the EU – and 12p per minute for calls received. There’s also a maximum 12p charge for sending text messages.

Mark Bridge writes:

Recording a phone call made by a mobile phone isn’t particularly difficult – it's something we do regularly for our podcasts – but recording every call made and received by a mobile phone isn't so easy. It's even more of a problem for companies with dozens or even hundreds of employees using mobile phones... and yet, for many organisations, this type of thing will soon be a legal requirement.

To learn more, I've been talking to Ian Hook, vice-president of marketing at Compliant Phones. I started by asking Ian why companies would want to record all their mobile phone calls.

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.

Mark Bridge writes:

When I arrived at Mobile World Congress earlier this month, I said I wanted to see a bit of everything. Ground-breaking devices, advanced technology, network innovation... and some original applications as well. What I didn't realise was that I could find all of those in one place, on the SK Telecom stand.