Richard Neudegg, director of regulation at Uswitch.com comments:
“As most broadband and mobile customers are still on contracts with annual price rises linked to inflation, today’s CPI announcement confirms the exact cost bump from April.
“Customers on inflation-linked contracts will likely pay out an estimated total of £64 million more on their broadband and mobiles per month from April this year.
“In real terms, bills are set to increase by an average of £21.99 per year for broadband and £15.90 a year on average for mobiles.
“Changes to Ofcom rules have led to a period of transition, as most providers have recently introduced new ‘pounds and pence’ increases for customers on new contracts.
“With so many variables, it’s even more important for customers to run a comparison and consider switching to a cheaper deal to avoid overpaying. A new broadband switching process called ‘One Touch Switch’ means changing broadband providers has never been easier.
“According to Ofcom’s latest data, 34% of broadband and 37% of mobile customers are currently out of contract. Newly out-of-contract customers often face the biggest price hikes where introductory deals expire, so even if you face a price rise in a new contract, you can save significantly more than staying on out-of-contract rates.
“There are also providers who don’t increase their prices mid-contract – including mobile networks like Giffgaff, SMARTY, VOXI, and Lebara, as well as smaller, alternative broadband providers like Hyperoptic and Trooli.
“Our data shows that broadband customers can save an average of £163 a year by switching their provider, while mobile customers at the end of a 24-month handset contract switching to a SIM-only contract (and keeping their existing handset) could save as much as £352 per year.
“If you are unsure whether your contract’s price rise will be inflation-linked or not, you can check the date your contract started. For most providers, it will likely be inflation-linked if it began before your provider’s switchover to pounds and pence.”
Key dates providers introduced contracts with pounds-and-pence price rises:
- BT/EE/Plusnet - 1 April 2024
- Vodafone - 2 July 2024
- TalkTalk - 12 August 2024
- Three - 1 September 2024
- Tesco Mobile - 17 December 2024
- Virgin Media/O2 - 9 January 2025 (previously RPI linked)
ENDS
Notes to editors
Methodology (calculation) - total mobile and broadband increase
- Total UK broadband and mobile bill increase per month = total broadband increase + total mobile increase = 64,188,337.24
- Total broadband increase per month = (average monthly bill from Uswitch data (£29.60) x (CPI figure + 3.69%)) x number of broadband customers on contracts with CPI-based price rise increase (15,321,800). The number of broadband customers on contracts with CPI-based price rise increases is calculated based on Jan 2025 consumer research of 2,000 UK adults. 1,079 respondents on providers who have applied CPI-based price increases said they took a contract out before pounds and pence rules were applied. 1,079 / 2000 = 54% of Brits multiplied by no. Brits (54,196,443) = 29,238,91 – Divide by 1.9 the average number of adults per household = 15,338,937. 3.69% refers to the average ‘extra cost’ of 12 broadband providers (including Sky, Virgin Media, BT, Plusnet, Vodafone and TalkTalk)
- Total mobile increase per month - (average monthly bill from Uswitch data (£20.70) x (CPI figure + 3.9%) x number of mobile customers on contracts with CPI-based price rise increases (27,260,811). The number of mobile customers on contracts with CPI-based price rise increases is calculated based on Jan 2025 consumer research of 2,000 UK adults. 1,006 respondents on providers who have applied CPI-based price increases said they took a contract out before pounds and pence rules were applied. 1,079 / 2000 = 50% multiplied by no. Brits (54,196,443) = 27,260,811. 3.69% refers to the average ‘extra cost’ of mobile providers.
- Total individual cost per month broadband = CPI rate + 3.69% of the average broadband cost of £29.60 x 12.
- Total individual cost per month mobiles = CPI rate + 3.9% of the average mobile cost of £20.70 x 12.
How the CPI rates will impact mobile and broadband customers:
| UK total broadband bill increase per month (£) | UK total mobile bill increase per month (£) |
|---|---|
| £28,073,214.83 | £36,115,122.41 |
Table: How these rises will affect me
| How much you pay now | Estimated monthly increase (CPI + 3.9%) | New monthly cost | New annual cost | Annual extra cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £20 | £1.28 | £21.28 | £255.36 | £15.36 |
| £25 | £1.60 | £26.60 | £319.20 | £19.20 |
| £35 | £2.24 | £37.24 | £446.88 | £26.88 |
| £50 | £3.20 | £53.20 | £638.40 | £38.40 |
| £75 | £4.80 | £79.80 | £957.60 | £57.60 |
For more information
Harriet Atkinson | Telecoms PR Manager
harriet.atkinson@rvu.co.uk
Twitter: @UswitchPR
About Uswitch
Uswitch is one of the UK’s top comparison websites for home services switching, including energy, broadband and mobiles.
More people go to Uswitch to find their energy, broadband and mobile deals than any other site, and we have saved consumers over £2.7 billion off their bills since we launched in September 2000.
Free mobile app Utrack also helps households manage their home energy usage and make potential savings.
Uswitch is part of RVU, a group of online brands with a mission to empower consumers to make more confident home services, insurance and financial decisions.