Millions of customers across the UK will see a broadband price rise in April at the start of the new tax year. Broadband providers are currently allowed to raise their prices mid-contract ‘in line with inflation’, meaning existing customers may have to pay more for the same service.
Who will see a broadband price rise?
You should have already been contacted directly by your broadband supplier if you’re going to see a broadband price rise this April. For comparison, here’s how bills will change on average for customers of the UK’s biggest suppliers.
Jump to supplier: BT, EE, Now, O2, Plusnet, Shell, Sky , TalkTalk, Three, Virgin Media, Vodafone
|
Service |
How much prices will rise by |
Effective date |
BT |
||
|
14.4% |
31 Mar 23 |
|
No price rise |
|
EE |
||
|
14.4% |
31 Mar 23 |
|
No price rise |
|
Now |
||
|
While Now has not explicitly confirmed a price freeze, it is likely. However, Now has revealed that it will raise out-of-bundle call costs for Now Talk users from May 1, 2023. Calls made to UK landlines and mobiles beyond allowance will increase from 22p to 25p per minute. |
||
O2 |
||
(if you joined or upgraded before 25 March 2021 |
Up to 13.4% |
1 Apr 23 |
(if you joined or upgraded after 25 March 2021 |
Up to 17.3%
|
1 Apr 23 |
|
Pay-as-you-go |
No price rise |
|
Plusnet |
||
(if you joined before 7 Oct 20) |
14.4%
As soon as your contract ends, prices will rise by 14.4% on your entire bill. |
31 Mar 23 |
(if you joined after 6 Oct 20) |
14.4% |
31 Mar 23 |
|
Mobile |
14.4% |
31 Mar 23 |
Shell |
||
(if you joined before 9 Jan 23) |
Up to 13.5% |
1 Apr 23 |
(if you joined on or after 9 Jan 23) |
No price rise until April 2024 |
|
Sky |
||
|
Broadband & TV |
8.1% |
1 Apr 23 |
|
Sky Glass & Sky Stream TV |
No price rise |
N/A |
|
Sky Broadband Basics |
No price rise |
N/A |
|
Home phone |
TBC |
TBC |
|
Mobile (out of contract) |
9% |
14 Feb 23 |
TalkTalk |
||
|
14.2% |
1 Apr 23 |
|
Fixed Price Plus (out of minimum contract period) |
10.5% |
1 Apr 23 |
|
TV add-on |
In the previous year, there was an increase in prices from £4 to £5 per month. Currently, there has been no official announcement on any price adjustments for this year. |
|
Three |
||
(if you joined before 29 Oct 20) |
13.4% |
1 May 23 |
(if you joined between 29 Oct 20 & 31 Oct 22) |
4.5% |
1 Apr 23 |
(if you joined on or after 1 Nov 22) |
14.4% |
1 Apr 23 |
Virgin Media |
||
|
13.8% (on average) |
1 Apr or 1 May 23 |
|
No price rise |
|
|
Virgin Mobile |
||
|
Up to 17.3% |
1 Apr 23 |
Vodafone |
||
(if you joined before 9 Dec 20) |
TBC |
|
(if you joined between 8 Dec 20 & 23 Feb 23) |
14.4% |
1 Apr 23 |
(if you sign up on or after 24 Feb 23) |
No price rise until April 2024 |
|
(if you joined before 2 Feb 21) |
TBC |
|
(if you joined between 2 Feb 21 & 23 Feb 23) |
14.4% |
1 Apr 23 |
(if you joined on or after 24 Feb 23) |
No price rise until April 2024 |
|
Which suppliers don’t raise their prices mid-contract?
While suppliers are currently allowed to impose a broadband price rise mid-contract, some have made it a policy not to do so. Some of the UK broadband suppliers that have pledged against mid-contract broadband price hikes include:
-
Hyperoptic Broadband
Hyperoptic promises that they will never raise customer prices mid-contract. At the start of your contract you’ll choose a 24-month, 12-month or 30-day contract length and your monthly price won’t increase during this minimum commitment. - YouFibre Broadband
YouFibre is another smaller broadband company that pledges not to raise prices for customers while they’re under contract. Currently, YouFibre only cover a few parts of the UK, but if you’re in the Northeast of England or in Scotland or Wales it’s worth checking if they’re available.
-
Zen Internet
Zen are another provider who has pledged not to raise prices for customers who are under contract. As they use the Openreach network for their infrastructure, the UK’s biggest, they’re also in more than 99% of homes. Zen are one of the more expensive providers on the network however, so if saving on your broadband is your top priority they may not be your best option.
Will mid-contract price rises be banned?
Ofcom, the UK regulator for the communications industry including broadband, is currently investigating different broadband suppliers regarding mid-contract price rises. However, they are not expected to ban the practice altogether.
The main subject of the investigation is that too few customers understand how mid-contract price rises work and are therefore being caught off guard. The regulator’s preliminary research indicates that around 1 in 3 customers don’t know whether their provider can raise their price mid-contract. Of those that did know, around half were unsure how the price rise would be calculated.
Currently, Ofcom hopes to improve these figures and make sure consumers have a better understanding of their contracts and suppliers’ policies. You can read more about the investigation here.
Will my other bills change?
Water
The average UK water bill will increase by 7.5% in April. The amount bills will change varies from supplier to supplier, but you can see the percentage change for every combined water and sewerage supplier in the UK here.
Energy
The Energy Price Guarantee is now going to stay the same until the end of June, but the end of the winter energy support payment means your bills may still change. Read more here.
TV
One bill that won’t be changing is the TV licence fee. This will remain fixed at its current price of £159 until April 2024.
Council Tax
Council Tax bills around the UK will also be going up in line with inflation. Your local authority should already have been in contact with you to explain how your bill will be changing and how this will affect your direct debit.
Read more about broadband bills in the UK:
