- Price rises of over £74 million will hit mobile and broadband bills every month from 31 March[1]
- But more than a quarter of mobile (25%) and broadband (31%) customers[2] don’t know if their bill will go up, equating to more than 15 million Brits[3]
- Nine million broadband and 33 million mobile customers could beat the rises by taking action now[4]
- Uswitch launches a price rise calculator to show how hard they could be hit by the spring bill hikes
More than 15 million Brits[3] could be hit with a shock bill hike this April, as a quarter of mobile (25%) and almost a third (31%)[2] of broadband customers are unaware they may be subject to a mid-contract price increase as part of their contract terms.
Broadband and mobile customers will be hit with price increases totalling £74 million per month[1] from 31 March. While Ofcom's new rules banning inflation-linked contracts came into effect in January, many consumers will still be on older inflation-linked contracts, leading to confusion amongst consumers on which hike will apply to them.
To help mobile and broadband customers, Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service, has launched a free online mid-contract price rises calculator. Customers can input a few details regarding their broadband and mobile plan and determine in minutes whether they are due a price rise this year and how much it will be.
The April broadband increases are expected to add an average of £21.99 annually for those on inflation-linked contracts[5] and up to £42 a year for those on newer ‘pounds and pence’ plans that are subject to fixed increases, set by the provider at the start of their contract[6].
When it comes to the bills of mobile customers, price rises will add an average of £15.90 a year to those on inflation-linked contracts[5] or up to £48 for those who took out a contract more recently with Ofcom’s new ‘pounds and pence’ rules applied[7].
The good news is that more than nine million Brits are out of contract on their broadband package and 33 million on their mobile plan[4]. These customers are free to switch providers now and avoid unnecessary price hikes.
For customers looking for a new broadband deal, Vodafone, Virgin Media, and Community Fibre are just some of the providers freezing prices until 2026 for those who switch before the April increases.
Several broadband and mobile providers go one step further, committing to no price rises at all throughout the life of your contract. For broadband, smaller regional providers such as Trooli, YouFibre and Hyperoptic pledge not to increase prices mid-contract.
For those looking to save on their mobile deal, customers with providers such as VOXI, Lebara, and SMARTY can rest assured that these providers are committed to not increasing their prices mid-contract.
Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at Uswitch.com, comments: “Year after year, mobile and broadband providers raise their prices every April, yet many Brits remain unaware that their monthly bills are about to increase, putting a strain on already tight wallets.
“Ofcom’s new rules, which came into effect in January 2025, mean that all mid-contract price increases now need to be communicated in pounds and pence when consumers take out their contract. However, as many providers have implemented these rules only for new and recontracting customers, the majority will still have a price rise linked to this year’s CPI or RPI figure.
“To help consumers better understand price rises this year, we’ve launched a new online calculator. In just a few minutes, with a few details about your plan, you’ll be able to find out if you’ll be subject to an increase this year, if it’s inflation-linked or not and how much your bill is set to rise by.
“While price rises are set to hit the majority of customers, there are millions of mobile and broadband customers currently out of contract and can act now to beat the April hikes. Smaller, regional broadband providers such as Trooli and Hyperoptic don’t raise their prices mid-contract, and many smaller mobile networks, such as SMARTY and VOXI, commit to fixed prices throughout your contract.
“Don’t get caught out by price rises that you might be able to avoid; check your contract today and see if you could swerve the mobile and broadband bill sting this spring.”
Head to Uswitch’s new price rise calculator to check whether your broadband and mobile bills will be increasing this year.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Opinium surveyed two samples of 2,000 UK adults from 10th-14th January 2025, and 18th – 21st February 2025.
1) Of those surveyed, 140 people or 7% will experience a pound and pence broadband increase of £3 per month. This equates to 1,996,711 households, multiplied by £3 is £5,990,133. Of those surveyed, 105 people or 5% will experience a pound and pence mobile increase between £1 and £1,80 per month. 2,845,303 will experience this type of increase totalling £4,246,291. The total increase is £10,236,424
Total UK broadband and mobile inflation-linked 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 = 64,188,337.24 + 10,236,424 = 75,424,761.24
2) Respondents were asked, “Does your mobile phone contract have an annual price rise in April?”, 25% answered “I don’t know”. Respondents were asked Does your home broadband contract have an annual price rise in April?, 31% answered “I don’t know”
3) Of those surveyed 560 (28%) don’t know if either their mobile or BB will have a price rise in April, 28% of UK adults (54,196,443) = 15,175,004.
4) According to Pricing trends for communications services in the UK 2024, 34% of broadband and 37% of mobile customers are currently out of contract. Telecommunications Market Data Update Q3 2024 - Ofcom tell us there were 29.1 million fixed broadband lines at the end of Q3 2024, and the number of active mobile subscriptions (excluding M2M) was 89.5 million at the end of Q3 2024. This means 9.4 million are out of contract on their broadband and 33 million on their mobiles.
5) Based on average annual broadband increase following CPI announcement in January 2025 of £21.99, and average annual mobile increase of £15.90.
6) The maximum amount people will pay on broadband on pounds and pence is based on Virgin Media’s increase of £3.50 per month. £3.50 x 12 = £42. The maximum amount people will pay on mobile on pounds and pence is based on BT / EE’s £4 per month increase for handsets. £4 x 12 = £48.
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.