Annual phone and broadband price rises cost a typical household £277 this year

Broadband and mobile customers are now paying almost £300 more a year for exactly the same services due to skyrocketing price increases.

The average price of a broadband deal rose by £182.40 a year in April, while the airtime part of mobile contracts rose by £94.80, according to comparison company Uswitch.

This is due to annual inflation-linked mid-contract price increases that occurred from April, with customers seeing their bills rise by up to 7.9 per cent.

This means the average person paying for broadband and a mobile phone is now charged £277 more a year.

Britons now pay £9bn for broadband and £5.4bn for mobile phones each year.

Loyal customers are paying the biggest increases, Uswitch said.

The average Briton has stayed with their mobile phone and broadband provider for five years.

Mobile customers who stayed with their provider for eight or nine years suffered the most, paying an extra £13.20 on their bill last month.

This is a massive 67 per cent price increase compared to the national average price increase of £7.90.

Those who changed mobile provider less than a year ago were the best off, with average increases of £6.70, or 15 per cent less than the national average of £7.90.

Broadband customers who had stayed with their provider for seven or eight years were the worst off, paying an average of £22.10 extra this month.

That’s 45 per cent more than the national average price rise of £15.20.

Comparatively, those who switched broadband providers less than a year ago saw their average price increase by £11.75, 23 per cent less than the national average of £15.20.

Belfast sees biggest mobile price rise

Those in Belfast experienced the biggest increases in mobile phone bills, now paying £11.60 more than last month, or almost double (47 per cent) the national average increase of £7.90.

Londoners have been dealt a double blow: they now pay £10.20 more for their mobile phone (up 29 per cent on the national average increase of £7.90) and £17.70 more for broadband (up from 16 per cent on the typical increase of £15.20).

More than half of Britons (57 percent) say they were not expecting the mid-contract price increases, Uswitch said.

Regulator Ofcom is considering plans to ban these inflation-related price rises from this summer, but not in time to prevent this year’s increases.

Additionally, any strict new rules would only apply to price increases in new contracts, not existing ones.

Sabrina Hoque, telecoms expert at Uswitch, said: “Ofcom’s long-awaited ban on inflation-related price increases will be good news for consumers as it will give them greater clarity about what they will pay upfront for their contract.” . But this still does not undo the impact of year-on-year increases for millions of Britons.

‘A key factor is the compounding effect of annual mid-contract price increases, year on year, as each year’s percentage increase will be based on an increasing total. “After several years, this will really make a difference.”

Why have mobile phone and broadband costs increased?

Broadband and mobile phone companies can increase their costs every year. Most link these increases to inflation.

Price increases that take place from March to May are typically based on the previous December’s inflation figures, often with an added benefit.

Price increases in 2024 were up to 7.8 percent: the December 2023 inflation figure of 4 percent more to an additional 3.9 percent.

For mobile phone deals, the only thing that may increase annually is the cost of airtime, not rebates on the device itself.