Three, one of the UK’s leading mobile service providers, has confirmed that it has begun selling completely unlocked smartphones.
Three has become the first major telecom operator in the country to offer unlocked handsets, meaning that customers can swap SIM cards of other network providers in their handsets any time.
Most of the mobile phones sold through wireless operators come with a software lock prohibiting their use on another operator’s network. Users who wished to use a local SIM card in the handset when travelling abroad in order to avoid roaming charges or switch to a different provider but keeping their existing handset, are required to get it unlocked by the operators by paying a hefty sum of money.
Danny Dixon, Three’s director of customer strategy, said that the company wants to focus on making the offered services more attractive and useful rather than limiting what customers can do with their handsets. He added that the company is quite confident of its network and that it wants to offer the best experience to those who purchase their devices from them.
Three’s latest move follows consumer group Which?’s campaign calling on all UK mobile networks to begin offering unlocked handsets. Other major mobile network providers including Virgin Mobile, Tesco Mobile, EE, O2, and Vodafone are yet to take any such action in this regard.
