Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industry, has made it possible the you can buy phones on 12 month mobile contracts again in the United Kingdom. From the end of May 2011, “contract lengths must not exceed 24 months and consumers should have the option to subscribe to a 12 month contract“. This is because Ofcom is enforcing the European Telecoms Package and made in into UK law. This is obviously great news for anyone who like to keep up-to-date with the latest handsets and smartphones, or who like to benefit from all the best deals on offer.

Of the major networks, Vodafone has been the first one to introduce 12 month contract tariffs again on their network from £35/month with 300 minutes and a free mobile phone handset. Talk Mobile has been offering some deals on contracts for 12 months as well from £15.32/month with 100 minutes and a free handset. By the end of May though, the other major UK networks (Orange, T-Mobile, Three and O2) will also be offering 12 month tariffs to be in-line with the Ofcom regulation. I’m sure the mobile phone manufacturers will be pleased with this regulation as well as it’s bound to increase the turn-around of handsets in the UK and Europe.ofcom-logo

For the best and cheapest mobile phone deals on 12 month contracts, we suggest you visit www.12monthcontractphones.co.uk. This easy to use website will let you search for the best value deals with 12 month contracts available by phone (e.g. Nokia N8, Samsung Galaxy S, iPhone 4 or Blackberry Torch) or network. They compare the prices of all leading online mobile phone retailers, so you can find the contract deal that’s best suited to you, based on the amount of free minutes or free texts you like or monthly line rental you’d want to pay. Most 12 months contract deals currently include the handset for free, though with some (especially the ones with low monthly line rental and latest smartphones) there will be a charge for the phone.

It’s worth noting though that on average, 18 and 24 month contracts will normally work out cheaper. This is obviously because the networks will have a longer commitment from you to stay with them (and pay your line rental to them every month) which means they can normally subsidise the phones more, or give you more free minutes for the same line rental. Nevertheless, we feel that the re-introduction of 12 month mobile phone contracts was long overdue, and it gives the cosumer the choice to change their handsets every year if they like.