UK Considers Ban on Tiny Mobile Phones

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UK authorities are mulling a ban on tiny mobile phones, designed to resemble car key fobs, to keep them away from British prisons where they can easily be smuggled in, per the BBC.

"We're now working closely with the Serious Organised Crime Agency and Trading Standards to remove these small mobiles from sale in the UK, as well as legislating to block phone signals in prisons," a prison service spokesman told the BBC.

The phones are manufactured in China and sold on eBay or Amazon for $60 to $80.

They appear marketed specifically towards prisoners. Some listings advertise features that help foil metal detectors ("very very very low metal contact badges [which] can be removed due to metal content alarm") and that are "easily concealable," as reported by the BBC.

Cell phones are banned for inmates in UK prisons; last year, authorities confiscated over 7,000 phones and SIM cards in England and Wales.

"The latest key fob mobile phone has the potential to increase the number of mobiles in prisons simply by the nature of the design and size," said POA, a prison officers' trade union.

While authorities work on legislative measures, the UK's National Transportation Safety Board has asked online retailers to stop selling the phones.

Mashable composite; images: Flickr, guy