British mobile operators will be banned from selling locked phones

Telecoms regulator Ofcom has banned mobile operators from selling locked phones after December 2021.

Locking mobiles to specific networks often causes confusion for consumers and prevents them from switching at the end of their contracts.

Selina Chadha, Connectivity Director at Ofcom, said:

“We know that lots of people can be put off from switching because their handset is locked.

So we’re banning mobile companies from selling locked phones, which...

27 October 2020 | Legislation & Government

SK Telecom uses blockchain to help people store national documents

SK Telecom is launching a blockchain-powered wallet for storing national documents in a government-led digitalisation push.

The largest wireless carrier in South Korea has been granted approval by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security to issue its first digital wallet for documentation.

Documents which can be stored in SK Telecom’s blockchain-powered wallet include resident registration cards, health insurance qualification certificates, immigration...

22 October 2020 | Legislation & Government

Huawei leads Q2 2020 smartphone shipments despite market slump

Huawei has led smartphone shipments for Q2 2020 despite political pressures and a record slump in the wider market.

According to research by IDC, global smartphone shipments declined 16 percent in Q2 over the previous year. The decline is hardly surprising due to people holding out to upgrade to 5G – and, of course, that whole pandemic thing.

"Smartphones shipments suffered a huge decline in Q2 as they directly correlate to consumer spending, which had a massive...

3 August 2020 | Research