Broadband mid-contract price increases in 2024, explained

If you pay for a broadband or mobile phone bill in the UK, you might have noticed that your monthly price increased from April 2024. And if you haven’t, it’s worth checking with your provider if it raised your prices this year.

Based on the inflation figures announced in 2024, monthly prices for millions of broadband customers are increased by up to 8.8%.

Many broadband and mobile providers hike their prices each year to combat the inflation rate and rising business costs. They can even do this if you’ve agreed to a fixed monthly rate for your contract period.

But is that allowed, even when you're halfway through your contract? And can you leave your provider early if so? Plus, how will Ofcom's new rule that bans inflation-linked price rises from 2025 affect you?

Read on to find out whether you can cancel or switch if your provider increases your prices.

Broadband price hikes in 2024

Unfortunately, even if you're in the middle of your contract, your broadband bill likely went up in April 2024. This is because most broadband providers have annual price hikes set in their terms and conditions.

Some customers won't be affected by these price rises because they're with a provider that fixes their cost for the whole contract. But these are often smaller providers who aren't as widely available as the big brands.

People on a broadband social tariff will also be exempt from these price rises. So if you're on government financial support like Universal Credit or PIP, you will likely be eligible for a discounted, no-price-rise deal.

What are mid-contract price rises?

Mid-contract price rises are when a provider hikes the cost of your monthly broadband bill during your contract term.

They usually occur once per year, and historically they've been tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation rate published at the beginning of each year.

To combat rising business costs, many providers also add their own set amount of about 3% to their price rises, which they claim is to ensure they can afford those rising costs each year.

This usually means a price increase of about 4-5% each year, regardless of the price you initially purchased your deal at. But since the inflation rate is still recovering from a 30-year high in 2023, price hikes are still higher than normal.

And as a result, many providers raised prices by up to 7.9% in April 2024. But Virgin Media in particular increased prices by 8.8%.

However, this is likely set to change for 2025's price increases. Ofcom has banned broadband providers from linking their annual price hikes to inflation, so new customers may start to see a fixed yearly increase when they're signing up instead.

Which broadband providers increase your prices mid-contract?

Find out below how much each provider increases their prices by this year, and which ones have already announced a fixed price increase from 2025 onwards.

If you want to learn more about the level of service you get from each of the biggest UK broadband providers, take a look at our broadband provider reviews.

You can also learn more about your mobile contract's 2024 price increases too with our in-depth guide.

How much did my broadband bill go up by in 2024?

The CPI inflation rate announced in January 2024 was 4%, meaning most broadband prices increased by up to 7.9% this year, after you add the additional 3-4% yearly increase that many providers have in their T&Cs.

Taking the 7.9% increase rate that providers like BT, Plusnet, Vodafone and EE incurred, this would increase your costs by the following amounts:

If you're with Virgin Media, your price increase was likely even higher - at 8.8%. This is because it ties its price hike to a more expensive type of inflation - the Retail Prices Index (RPI). Here's how that could affect your Virgin bill:

Once again, Ofcom will soon be banning this way of calculating price rises. So for all broadband customers signing up to a new deal from January 2025 (and some new customers of certain providers from now), their annual price rise will instead be a fixed rate in pounds and pence.

When do my broadband prices go up?

These annual broadband price increases happen around April each year.

Broadband providers tend to make their price rises effective around the Spring, but they usually announce them a few weeks beforehand. So you should have heard from your provider about any potential price increase in February or March 2024.

These price rises also take effect if you're out of contract. But if your initial contract term has ended, you're able to switch to a cheaper deal right away.

There are lots of offers out there for a very reasonable price - just make sure to avoid packages that are too slow for your household's needs.

Can I leave my contract if my prices go up?

This depends on the terms and conditions you agreed to when you signed up with your current provider.

Usually, a fixed contract for a service means you’ve agreed to pay a specific monthly price for a set time. This works both ways — your provider agrees to charge you that same amount each month, and you agree to pay that amount on an agreed date.

However, when you sign up for a broadband contract, you need to accept the terms and conditions (T&Cs) the provider has in place to use its services.

You don’t have to accept these terms, but you won’t be able to sign up for a provider that includes these charges if you don't. In this case, you’ll have to find a provider that doesn’t include a yearly price rise, but they are few and far between.

Essentially, if you continue to sign up to a provider that mentions price increases in its T&Cs, you will have officially agreed to pay that increased amount when charged. And if you want to leave your contract early as a result, you will have to pay early exit fees to do so.

This might seem unfair, given that these terms are often hidden away among a lot of text that most people never read. But if you’re concerned about this before joining a new provider, it's important to specifically search for any mention of price rises in the T&Cs.

However, if you're approaching the end of your contract soon, you may not have to wait too long before you can switch away from your current deal anyway.

So be sure to look out for a message from your provider about what your options are when your fixed term ends.

Social tariffs aren't affected by April price hikes

If you're currently receiving universal credit or another form of government financial support, you will likely be eligible for a discounted social broadband tariff from your provider.

This would let you immediately reduce your monthly cost, and these tariffs aren't affected by annual price hikes.

Broadband provider price hikes in 2024

Most major broadband providers increased prices in 2024. Here's some more information on how the price increase usually works for each of them.

Ofcom's new price rise ruling

Broadband regulator Ofcom recently said it is ban inflation-linked price hikes for new customers from January 2025.

Instead, many providers will be adding a fixed annual price rise policy to their T&Cs, where the amount each year will be detailed before you sign up in pounds and pence. This will make it easier to understand how much you will be paying each month by the time your contract finishes.

However, many providers have chosen to implement a flat £3 per month increase each year, which is actually a bigger price increase for those on cheaper broadband deals than any increase would have been under the current inflation rate.

Our research revealed that 85% of broadband and mobile customers think mid-contract price rises are unfair. And roughly the same amount said that you should be able to leave your contract if your price goes up during your minimum term.

Unfortunately, this isn't the case for most. So while 71% of Brits would switch to a provider that doesn't hike prices halfway through, many are still unable to do so.

It's still unclear how this ruling will look, or what it'll mean for inflation price hikes going forward. But it's a welcome step for customers hoping to keep control of their bills.