Britain to Ban ‘Locked’ Mobile Sales, Make Broadband Switching Easier

The Ofcom (Office of Communication) logo on the front of its headquarters in London, on Jan. 18, 2007. Bruno Vincent/Getty Images

Mobile phone vendors in the UK will be banned from selling “locked” handsets from December 2021, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) said.

“We know that lots of people can be put off from switching because their handset is locked,” Selina Chadhn, Ofcom’s Connectivity Director said in a statement.