Millions of mobile phone and broadband customers are set to see major price hikes in April after January’s inflation figure was revealed today.
It was confirmed this morning that the UK’s rate of inflation for the 12 months to January stood at 3% – a huge jump from December’s level of 2.5%. The figure is the highest the UK has seen over the last 10 months, after falling to a low of 1.7% in September last year. January’s inflation figure had always been important as it dictated how much mobile phone and broadband contracts would rise in April.
Previously, broadband and mobile companies were allowed to increase prices mid-contract in line with inflation, plus up to 3.9% extra on top of this. Most used the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation data for December or the Retail Prices Index (RPI) for January to decide their increases. However, the regulator Ofcom has banned mid contract inflation-based price rises and has introduced new rules that took effect on new contracts taken out from January 17, 2025. These rules require telecom providers to set any mid-contract rises out in “pounds and pence.”
Major providers, including BT, Plusnet, EE, TalkTalk, and Three, have changed the pricing structure for new contracts – some of which apply to contracts which were started or upgraded before a certain date. This means a large number of customers will see prise rises linked to the inflation figure. Here are the dates some providers have introduced:
It should also be noted that social tariffs are not included in the annual price rises. However, more customers of provider Virgin Media will see price rises linked to RPI, which is 3.6% for January. This is because the new pricing structure is only set for contracts that have been taken out on or before January 8, 2025 – so this year. Customers with these contracts will see their bills rise by January’s RPI figure plus 3.9%, so by 7.5% in April. Contracts taken out after the January date will see a fixed £3.50 rise from April.
Uswitch responds to January’s retail price index (RPI) figures. Virgin Media is the main provider which links its price increases to the RPI. Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at the price comparison provider Uswitch.com, said today’s RPI announcement heralds “bad news” for the majority of Virgin Media customers. He said: “Virgin Media broadband customers paying the average broadband cost of £355 per year will see their bills rise by £26. This inflation-linked increase only applies to Virgin Media customers who took out their contract before 9th January 2025.
“Virgin Media customers who took out a contract after January 9 will be subject to a ‘pounds and pence’ price rise following Ofcom’s ban on inflation-linked mid-contract price increases in January. This will be £3.50 per month for broadband customers, making these the steepest of providers’ mid-contract price rises this cycle.
Uswitch estimated that around two million Virgin Media customers who are out of contract or coming to the end of their existing deal do not need to put up with the price rises, adding: “The launch of One Touch Switch means it’s never been easier for broadband customers to vote with their feet and switch providers. Smaller, regional broadband providers like Hyperoptic and Trooli don’t raise their prices mid-contract and customers can save on average £181 a year by switching providers. You don’t have to let price hikes slide – it only takes a few minutes to run a comparison and see what other options are out there.”
A Virgin Media spokesperson said: “We announced in November that we’re changing how we communicate and implement price increases for new and re-contracting customers. Instead of percentage-based price changes linked to inflation, contracts will specify an annual price increase in pounds and pence, giving customers greater certainty about how their bills may change over the course of their contract.
“As per the terms and conditions they agreed to when signing up, and in line with Ofcom’s new rules, some existing Virgin Media customers on older contracts will receive an inflation-linked price increase in April equivalent to RPI+3.9%.“We know that price changes are never welcome, but with broadband usage on our network up by nearly 10% last year, we continue to provide excellent value for connectivity that our customers are relying on more than ever before. We also continue to support customers who need it most – for example through exempting social tariff and Talk Protected landline customers from any price changes.”
BT
Plusnet
EE
Virgin Media
Vodafone
Three
Talk Talk/Shell Energy Broadband
KCOM
One Stream
Community Fibre
Gigaclear
Sky
NOW Broadband
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
