Millions of households are facing higher broadband bills, courtesy of annual price rises introduced by several of the UK’s major providers.
Earlier in the year Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media all announced that they’d be raising prices on some of their deals.
However, several other providers – including the UK’s biggest, BT – are also increasing their prices. But unlike the price rises announced by other providers, these are baked into consumer contracts meaning customers have no choice but to pay them – and they happen annually.
Broadband providers and price hikes
Several of the UK’s big broadband providers have introduced annual price rises – in most cases they base them around the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate of inflation as published in January – this year, the CPI was 0.6%.
BT, the UK’s biggest broadband provider, has announced it will offer new social tariffs for its fibre broadband. BT’s Home Essentials packages will be available to people on Universal Credit and certain other means-tested benefits.
Home Essentials will include both fibre broadband and calls for as little as £15 a month – around half the price of BT’s standard fibre package. BT estimates that as many as 4.6 million households could benefit from the deal.
The announcement follows research from Ofcom, the telecoms regulator, which found that 19% of UK households struggle to afford at least one of their telecoms services.
View all
Fibre is increasingly becoming the first choice for people seeking a new broadband connection. It makes sense – fibre broadband is not only faster than standard (ADSL) broadband but more reliable too. But there isn’t just one type of fibre, and the speeds available can vary significantly.
Read on to learn more about the different types of fibre – including the new speedy ‘full-fibre’ connections that are becoming increasingly available – and weigh up the potential benefits.
Types of fibre broadband – superfast, ultrafast and gigabit
There are several different types of fibre broadband and the terminology can quickly get confusing. Here are the key terms it’s useful to understand when exploring fibre broadband options.
TalkTalk is to raise broadband prices for many of its home broadband and landline customers from next month – and it’s planning to write future increases into contracts.
This follows last month’s news that Sky will also raise some prices from April. Both providers are in the process of contacting affected customers.
We’ve surveyed over 4,000 broadband customers about their experiences with all of the biggest broadband providers in the UK. Find out how TalkTalk stacks up against competitors like BT, Sky and Virgin Media in our guide to the best and worst broadband providers of 2021.
How are TalkTalk’s prices changing?
Switching broadband provider could become even easier after proposals from Ofcom, the telecoms regulator, to introduce a ‘one touch’ process that means you’ll only have to contact your new provider, regardless of which network they use.
Currently broadband customers only have to contact the new provider if they are moving between providers that use the Openreach network. However, if you plan to move to or from providers that use their own networks – such as Virgin Media or Hyperoptic – you have to contact both. Ofcom says its new plan will make switching smooth for all broadband and landline customers.
Ofcom has opened the proposal up for consultation – if it decides to move forward with the plans, they’ll come into force from December 2022.