Global SIM unit shipments have increased by six percent over the last year as the overall value of the SIM market has risen.

According to trade body the SIMalliance, its members’ shipment volumes rose from 4.4 billion in 2011 to 4.6 billion in 2012.

Orange Business Services is planning to release a new global cloud security product later this year as the firm targets increased revenues from the sector.

The Flexible Identity offering is aimed at providing smartphone business users with a way to increase identity control amid the multiplication of cloud applications and the development of professional/personal uses.

Panasonic Avionics is holding the world’s first mid-air Tweetathon at the opening of the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg to highlight the company’s push into airplane Wi-Fi.

Passengers on six different aircraft will interact with each other, as well as their Twitter followers back on earth, using the #High5Live hashtag, while on separate flights all across the globe.

Telekom Austria has appointed LTE pioneer Günther Ottendorfer as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at an extraordinary meeting.

Ottendorfer has previously been the CEO and CTO of T-Mobile Austria, as well as the CTO of T-Mobile Germany and European Technology Director of T-Mobile’s international group.

The global mobile backhaul market has surpassed €6.2 billion, driven by HSPA/HSPA+ and LTE deployments, while the millimetre wave market is set to double in 2013, fuelled by LTE backhaul.

According to Infonetics’ latest report, the global macrocell mobile backhaul equipment rose seven percent between 2011 and 2012 to €6.2 billion.

EE has announced that its 4G LTE service is now available in 50 UK towns and cities, and is also reaching half of the country’s population.

According to the UK mobile operator, the roll out is progressing “ahead of schedule” and 4G LTE has been switched on in 13 more locations including Leicester, Doncaster, Bradford, Lichfield and St Albans.

Mobile interaction vendor Tyntec has signed a partnership with Polish operator P4 to provide OTT communication services that it claims will generate new revenue streams as well as helping it to gain some control over the OTT market.

The deal, which is the first of its kind in Europe, works as a two-way process.

Facebook has today launched “Home”, a home screen user interface that sits on top of Android’s mobile OS, in a bid to better integrate the social network into smartphones and create a new social mobile experience.

Speaking live from Facebook’s California headquarters, Mark Zuckerberg ended months of speculation with the announcement, stating clearly that it was not Facebook’s intention to create a new Facebook OS or to "fork Android" (i.e. downloading the Android source code and using it as the basis for creating something else, like Amazon did with the Kindle Fire tablets), as it was integral to keep Google-backed OS open.

Cisco is acquiring LTE femtocell provider Ubiquisys for €242 million in order to strengthen its mobility expertise in delivering intelligent internet networks.

Ubiquisys makes intelligent 3G and LTE small cells technologies that provide seamless connectivity across mobile heterogeneous networks for operators, such as its Smart Cell 3G/4G/Wi-Fi hotspots (read: Ubiquisys and Saguna team up to launch small cell-based caching solution).

Latest smartphone sales data from the UK indicates that Nokia, LG, Sony and HTC are slowly increasing their market share, which could signify a more competitive device manufacturer landscape.

Between January and March, HTC managed to grow its market share to 9.1 percent due to the success of its refreshed HTC One X+ and the HTC 8S, according to research firm Kantar.

O2 has launched a train booking app as it looks to add value to its struggling mobile wallet service.

According to the UK mobile operator, customers will be able to save up to 80 percent on advanced fares with its Train Travel app as it doesn’t charge any booking or credit card fees unlike many of its competitors, such as The Train Line.