Broadband price rises in 2023: Can you switch to avoid them?

Dan Howdle | February 14th, 2023

Broadband prices set to soar in 2023, but can you avoid paying more?

Broadband providers have recently announced their annual prices rises and they are – to put it mildly – a bit steep. With price rises linked to inflation (CPI and RPI), this is hardly surprising. But just how much will prices be going up, and is there anything you can do as a customer to avoid paying more for your broadband?

Why are prices going up?

First off, let's talk about how much providers are raising their prices. Traditionally, broadband contract prices are raised in line with inflation. It's usually not enough to drive existing customers away, since inflation is usually around 2-3.5%. However, recent economic conditions have meant that inflation has sky-rocketed to an estimated 10-11%, depending on which inflation index you consult. And that means those 2-3% annual adjustments to the price of your broadband contract are – for the time being – a thing of the past.

As much as it puts customers in a difficult spot, the same can be said of the providers. On the one hand, they have to keep their business running profitably, while on the other they cannot raise prices so egregiously as to scare away customers.

Broadband price rises in 2023

Here is a quick rundown of the broadband price rises announced thus far for existing customers of the biggest four providers.

• BT – BT has confirmed it will be increasing its prices by close to 15% from the end of March. It is making no attempt to keep its rate of increase low on this occasion, combining the current rate of inflation with around a 4% increase it levies on its packages every year no matter what inflation is doing. With the cost of living such an important issue right now, we would have expected BT to do better
• Sky – Sky has announced an average 8.1% price rise for existing customers across its entire range of brodband and TV packages from 1 April. Sky is keen to point out that this is well below the current rate of inflation and that for new customers switching to Sky between now and 30 March 2023, prices are frozen for the rest of the year
• Virgin Media – Virgin Media announced its annual price rises for 2023 back at the end of January. It intends to raise prices for existing broadband and TV customers by 13.8% – well above the current rate of inflation – from April 1. That means if you currently pay £50 per month, for example, you'll be paying around an extra £83 per year
• TalkTalk – TalkTalk will also be raising its prices for existing customers by over 14% on average, again from 1 April 2023

What about other providers?

Pretty much every UK broadband provider will be increasing its prices to existing customers this year. If you're not a customer of the 'big four' (above), we recommend you check with your provider to be sure you understand exactly what sort of increase to expect.

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Ways to avoid the increases

While the price rises for 2023 are set in stone, there are some courses of action you may want to consider to avoid them. What options are specifically available to you will come down to which provider you're with, whether you're still under contract, and which alternative providers are available in your area. Let's take a look at your options.

Switching to a new-customer deal with a different provider

Broadband providers are constantly attempting to draw new customers by offering cut-priced, new-customer packages, deals that offer cashback or other freebies and even, sometimes, both. These sorts of deals can easily offset the cost of, say, a 14% annual price increase. But you'll need to do the maths on that on an individual, case-by-case basis, depending on what sort of rise you're facing, and what sort of deal is being offered.

In order to switch away from your current deal, you will also have be out of contract. In other words, if your contract is 18 months, you'll have to be beyond that to be able to switch no questions asked. In-contract, things are a little more complicated. Unexpected price increases have to be signalled by a provider via a letter, and the rules say you have 30 days to switch away after receipt of said letter, without incurring any early termination fees.

Where this gets murky is that many providers now stipulate there will be an annual rise within their contract, and you will have agreed to that when signing up. In those instances, they are not legally bound to send you a letter, and likewise, not legally bound to allow you to quit your contract without incurring fees. So you'll need to see what the terms of your contract are in this regard, as well as keep your eyes peeled for a letter.

Haggling with your existing provider

Most broadband providers don't want you to switch away, so provided you have that option (you're out of contract or you've received a price rise notification via a letter), you can usually – attempt at least – to haggle the price down on your existing contract.

This tactic depends heavily on which provider you're with. Sky, for example, is renowned for giving a little ground to customers they want to keep. BT, on the other hand, has a bit of a reputation for saying no. If you want to stay with your current provider and aren't happy about the price rise, this is still the best thing to try though, since no provider will let an existing customer switch onto a new-customer deal.

Our top tips to avoid hefty price rises

So, that was a lot of information. The situation with inflation, providers' normal annual increases, how the two work together, and what that means for you is far from simple. More generally then, it's going to help you face these sorts of challenges going forward, if you adhere to the following tips and good practices.

• Read your contract – Broadband contracts are long and tedious but it's still a good idea to, at the very least, read the section that explains how, why and when you can leave your contract, as well as whether in signing your contract, you are signing off a provider's ability to raise prices without warning and without offering you the opportunity to go elsewhere
• Put an end-of-contract note in your calendar – Once you're set up, go to reminders or your calendar on your phone, and set a reminder for a week or two before your contract ends so you know when you can switch or have haggle leverage. Providers rarely go out of their way to tell you your contract has ended
• Do the maths – If you know your contract is going to increase by 15% this year, figure out how much that means you'll be paying. That way, you can compare new-customer deals from other providers with a view to avoiding the increase or even paying less than you currently do

The shape of things to come?

Until inflation in the UK, and more broadly around the world, is brought under control, these sorts of annual increases are going to keep coming. You can and should use the tips outlined in this blog to help you avoid or contain the worst of it, but we need to be realistic. This is going to continue until the global economy recovers and that depends on several factors beyond your control – and even beyond the control of the UK government.

That's not to say things are going to be this way forever. But, we can't lay the blame squarely at the feet of the providers. They are responding to market conditions after all, and some, for example Sky, are doing a better job than others at keeping those rises to an absolute minimum.

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