Uswitch pens open letter to broadband providers as double industry delay hinders up to £1.43 billion in customer savings

Uswitch, the comparison and switching service, has today published an open letter to the big four broadband providers as a full page in a national newspaper, calling for an end to delays for a long-awaited switching process called One Touch Switch.

The UK’s “Big Four” broadband providers today missed their second target date to implement this industry process that will make switching providers easier for consumers, by standardising the process across different networks.

This missed deadline comes just weeks before all the large broadband providers – BT, Sky, Virgin Media and TalkTalk – are rolling out a series of mid-contract price rises of up to 8.8%, with many facing an aggregate increase of 23% to their broadband bill since March 2023 [5].

Calls to reform

Amid rising prices, consumers are often advised to consider switching to find a better deal. Uswitch research shows 28% of UK broadband customers intend to switch their broadband providers this year, which would unlock savings of up to £1.43 billion based on average savings[2].

There is considerable support for industry change, as eight out of ten (79%) believe that broadband providers should make it easier for them to switch[3]. However, over half (56%) did not know about these reforms, and nearly eight in ten (78%) were also unaware of the missed industry deadlines[6].

Customers are concerned about being charged exit fees (43%) and being left offline (33%) - while three in ten (30%) also mistakenly believe there are no savings to be had by switching providers in the current market, when they could in fact save an average of £179 [7].

This means that as many as 4.2 million Brits out of contract still haven’t changed providers, and nearly three quarters (72%) of all broadband customers have no plans to switch.

Double delay

The double-delay means genuine competition in the market continues to be limited, as it is harder for customers to change providers if they want to switch, especially as they face industry price rises.

The deadline to reform the switching process was 3 April 2023, with a second target date 14 March 2024 as set by Ofcom and TOTSCo.

This week has seen a new target date of 12 September set, as the industry has failed to meet today’s date.

Ofcom has published an updated enforcement programme regarding the industry failure to launch a new simpler broadband switching process [4].

Uswitch has today published an open letter, published as a full page advert in The Times newspaper and in full on Uswitch.com, calls on broadband providers to do the right thing, prioritise their customers and stick to the new 12 September 2024 target date without any further delays.

The letter emphasises that consumers need a genuinely competitive broadband marketplace, where a customer can easily consider their choices and benefit from the best offers - no matter who provides the network infrastructure.

Uswitch telecoms expert, Ernest Doku, comments: “Broadband customers have already been disappointed twice while waiting for One Touch Switch. While we welcome the new date - it’s crucial that the industry sticks to it without any further delays.

“As the timing of the missed target dates falls close to industry price rises, the consumer impact of the delays shouldn’t be overlooked.

“Broadband price rises have already cost consumers an estimated £427 million more on their bills since 2023, with further rises of up to 8.8% expected from April - compounding the financial pain for customers. Many are facing an aggregate increase of 23% to their broadband bill since March 2023.

“Without a simpler cross-network switching process, it’s harder for consumers to have full confidence to take advantage of all the options in the market and leave when price rises hit. Our own data shows that broadband customers can save as much as £179 if they switch.

“This is why we’ve decided it’s time we wrote to the big four providers - as industry leaders - and urged them to make it happen this time with no more delays.

“Our letter today to the industry leaders highlights our concern that broadband customers shouldn’t be bearing the brunt of increasing prices without an easy option for cross-network broadband switching.

“We need a genuinely competitive broadband marketplace, where a customer can easily consider their choices and benefit from the best offers - no matter who provides the network infrastructure.”

To read the full letter and for more information about One Touch Switch, visit Uswitch.com/OTS

Chris Thomas

PR Contractor

v-chris.thomas@rvu.co.uk

Notes to Editor

[1] Customers with providers which had inflation based mid-contract price increases in April 2023 will have paid an average of £3.53 extra per month each after the April 2023 price increases (based on average advertised broadband prices from a selection of providers listed on Uswitch.com). There were around 11 million people who were on deals with inflation-based price increases (according to Ofcom’s Consultation: Prohibiting inflation-linked price rises), so after 11 months to (i.e. in March this year) they'd have paid an estimated £427,130,000 extra in total for all of the UK.

[2] 28% of UK respondents indicate they will ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ switch their broadband providers in the next 12 months. There are 28.6 million fixed broadband lines at the end of Q3 2023 (according to Ofcom’s Telecommunications Market Data). 8,008,000 were considering switching providers. Uswitch savings data shows customers could save £179 per year by switching broadband providers. £179 x 8,008,000 = £1,433,432,000

[3] Opinium surveyed a sample of 2,000 UK adults from the 9th to 13th February and 20th to 23rd February. Results have been weighted to be nationally representative. Respondents were asked: ‘How far do you agree or disagree with the following statement: “Broadband providers should make it easier to switch between networks”. 79% of all broadband customers agreed.

[4] Ofcom enforcement programme on industry failure to implement One Touch Switch

[5] The aggregate increase is based on an increase of 14.4% (CPI+3.9%) increase in 2023 and a 7.9% (CPI+3.9%) increase in 2024.

[6] Respondents were asked: ‘Do you understand the following to be true or false? Broadband providers are obliged to make it easier for consumers to switch providers via the ‘One Touch Switch’ reforms, overseen by Ofcom’. 44% selected true, 7% selected false, and 49% indicated they did not know.

[7] Respondents were asked: ‘I don’t want to switch broadband provider as I’m worried I could be cut off and left offline’ - 33% agreed. ‘I would worry about being charged exit fees if I wanted to switch broadband provider’ - 43% agreed. ‘There are no savings to be had by switching broadband provider in the current market’ - 30% agreed.

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 switch their energy, broadband and mobile 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.