This spring, millions of BT, EE, Plusnet, Shell, TalkTalk, Three and Vodafone broadband customers will be hit with price hikes of up to 14.4%. This is because broadband providers can increase prices mid-contract by the rate of inflation plus an extra amount on top (usually around 4 percentage points).
This year, many providers have said they're increasing their prices due to the fact that their underlying and operating costs have increased substantially due to greater regulations, higher energy prices and increased network costs.
However, the news will come as a blow to customers who are already being hit with an increase in the cost of living. But, the good news is that if you're out of contract then you don't have to accept any price hikes. If this is the case for you, head over to our best broadband deals page and lock in a great new deal.
Which providers are increasing their prices?
Many of the UK's biggest and most popular internet service providers use the December consumer prices index (CPI) rate of inflation as part of their price rise calculation.
This Wednesday (18th January), the latest CPI figure was published. It remained at an eye-watering 10.5%. As a result, we now know the exact price hikes most providers will implement.
Here's how much each provider will increase their prices by:
- BT - 14.4% (December's CPI figure + 3.9 percentage points)
- EE - 14.4% (December's CPI figure + 3.9 percentage points)
- NOW - TBC, the company doesn't use inflation figures for broadband price rises
- O2 - TBC depending on January's Retail Price Index figure, published in February
- Plusnet - 14.4% (December's CPI figure + 3.9 percentage points)
- Shell - Up to 13.5% (December's CPI figure + up to 3 percentage points)
- Sky - TBC, the company doesn't use inflation figures for broadband price rises
- TalkTalk - 14.2% (December's CPI figure + 3.7 percentage points)
- Three - TBC depending on January's Retail Price Index figure, published in February
- Virgin Media - TBC, the company doesn't use inflation figures for broadband price rises
- Vodafone - TBC, the company doesn't use inflation figures for broadband price rises
Can I leave my contract and avoid price hikes?
Whether you can end your current broadband deal and avoid these price hikes will depend on whether you're under contract or not.
Currently, millions of customers across the UK are out of contract. These customers have simply been rolled onto different tariffs without ever signing up for them. If your old deal expired and you never actively signed up for a new one, then this is your situation.
In these instances, you can leave your contract penalty-free. Plus, as the best broadband deals are exclusively for new customers, you can probably find a much cheaper deal elsewhere. Alternatively, if you'd like to stay with your current provider but you'd like cheaper bills, then you may want to ask them to match a cheaper deal you've found elsewhere. Try using our widget at the bottom of the page to see what's available in your area.
By contrast though, if you're actively in contract (you can easily check this on your online account), then the price rise will likely be written into your contract. In the vast majority of cases, this means that you cannot leave your contract without paying a penalty fee.
In this instance, you'll need to decide whether you wish to pay the penalty and leave, or stay until the end of your contract and then leave and lock in a cheaper deal elsewhere.
