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BT To Hike Broadband Prices by 10%

Updated on
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bt-broadband-price-hike

With inflation reaching 5.4%, broadband companies are increasing their prices to stay afloat. If you are a BT customer, read on to find out how you could be affected.

As if the ongoing energy crisis wasn’t enough, now broadband is due to feel the pinch due to inflation. With annual price increases reaching 5.4% (according to the Bank of England), telecommunications companies are looking at historical price rises in order to combat the rise in costs, with BT customers being the worst affected.

Why the Increase?

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BT announced that it would be increasing its prices by the end of March this year. This is not unusual for broadband companies since they normally increase prices around March and April time each year in order to keep up with rising business costs and inflation. These increases are small and are in tune with rises across other industries.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation has become a global problem and more exceptional measures have been taken to combat the effects. Owing to the inflation, BT has decided on high price rises mid-contract.

Virgin Media is also raising its prices, but Sky Broadband still hasn't announced any set hikes.

Mid-Contract Price Hikes

Usually when you sign up to a broadband deal, you are on a fixed contract. This means that your broadband company charges you a set amount every month in exchange for you staying with them for a set period of time. If you decide to leave the contract early, you often have to pay an early exit fee

However, in the terms and conditions of your contract, a broadband company can raise your price by a certain amount while you are mid-contract. This is done to keep up with inflation.

BT’s Historic Hike

BT’s price hike will be a record rise for the first time in decades. Over the last two decades, inflation has been kept below 2%, meaning that the broadband price increases have only been in keeping with those increases. However this year, BT has announced an increase of 9.3% to their prices.

That 9.3% increase will include two parts:

  1. 5.4% will be added to keep in line with current inflation
  2. 3.9% for covering current business costs, such as rolling out fibre optic broadband
piggy-bank-and-money

Who Will Be Affected by the Price Rise?

The BT price rise is expected to affect the majority of domestic customers who signed with a new or renewed contract after September 2020. This will mean that these customers should expect to see an extra £3.50 added to their bill

As this price increase is written into the BT contracts from September 2022, if you wanted to leave the contract, you would have to pay the early exit fee. Virgin Media however have said they will waive the exit fee with their price rise.

Which Customers Will Not Be Affected?

Those vulnerable customers who use certain BT services will be exempt from the price rise. These are BT customers who use the following services:

  • BT Basic
  • BT Home Essentials
  • BT Phone Saver

What Can I Do To Save?

magnifying-glass-over-contract

Unfortunately if you are still in a broadband contract with BT, there’s not much you can do to save money if you don’t want to pay the exit fee. However, you might be able to find another broadband provider who would make the broadband switch worth the exit fee.

If you are at the end of your contract, you should definitely consider switching to a different broadband provider. You should look at the latest broadband deals to see if you can make a significant saving, preferably there are no mid-contract rises.

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