Broadband price rises in the UK

Contracts from 17 January 2025, and older ones

Ofcom’s rules stop providers from using inflation-linked or percentage-based price rises in new contracts, and in contracts that are renewed, from 17 January 2025. A rise in those contracts has to be set out in pounds and pence when you agree. Contracts signed before that date can still contain an older inflation-linked clause.

The page you are on cannot see which contract you signed. Read the terms, or ask the provider, before you assume you can leave without a charge. A pounds-and-pence rise that was in the contract when you agreed is not the same event as a rise the contract did not allow.

The monthly price is not the whole story

Introductory rates often last several months. After that, the in-contract price can be higher. On a contract from 17 January 2025, a later rise should already be written in pounds and pence. On an older contract, it may still be tied to inflation. Read the wording you signed.

How we show cost

We show the advertised monthly price, any promotional period, the price after the promotion where we have it, and upfront charges. A first-year total is one view. The minimum-term cost is another, and it includes the later months. We do not invent a future inflation number and call it a guarantee.

Where the bill actually moves

Three different increases get called ‘a price rise’. The introductory price ends. A contracted annual rise, now often written in pounds and pence, is applied. Or the provider changes the price and gives you a window to leave. They are not the same event and they do not give you the same rights.

A deal that is £25 for six months and £40 after is not a £25 deal. Add the months. A mid-contract rise of a few pounds on top of that can erase the gap versus a flat price. Write both totals before you switch.

Older CPI-plus-percentage clauses and newer pounds-and-pence clauses can both still be in the market depending on when you signed. Read your contract, not a generic explainer, when you decide whether you may leave for free.

How to read a comparison

Look for the price after the promotion, the length of the promotion, setup, and the provider’s sentence about later changes. If that sentence is missing, treat the first-year total as incomplete and ask them. Do not let a cashback voucher replace a monthly price you have not checked.

Social tariffs are often more stable than commercial intros, and they are only available if you qualify. A one-month teaser that becomes a full commercial price is not a social tariff. Ask which one you are being sold.

When you switch, the new contract’s rise clause starts again. Leaving a provider to escape next April’s rise, then signing a new 24-month rise clause, can be a sideways move. Read the new clause in the same sitting as the saving.

What to do with this guide

Use this page as a checklist, not as a quote. The decisions sit with you and with the provider: the address, the contract you already signed, and the offer they will actually sell. OneTouchSwitch can show a mock catalogue and explain the switching process. We do not send the One Touch Switch messages, we do not set exit fees, and we do not decide social-tariff eligibility.

Before you act, write down four things. The premises, including the flat number. The early-termination figure in pounds if you are still in a minimum term. Whether a television package, a phone number, or a care alarm depends on the line. And the date you can be at home if an engineer is required. If any of those is unknown, you are not ready to order, however clear the guide feels.

Then compare at the address. Look at the opening monthly price and, separately, the minimum-term cost: later months, setup, and a confirmed exit fee. A first-year figure is useful and it is not the whole term when the contract is longer. Order with the gaining provider only when you have decided the numbers work. Do not cancel the old service first. Keep the confirmation and the old router until the new line has worked. If the situation in “Broadband price rises in the UK” does not match what the provider just told you, use the provider’s written answer.

If you are helping someone else, you need their authority. Paying a bill is not authority. A parent, a landlord, or a housemate cannot One Touch Switch a contract that is not theirs. Sit with the account holder, or get the provider to note an authorised contact, before a date is agreed.

Related reading on this site is there to stop a second mistake. Full fibre is a way of building, not a speed. A social tariff is a provider’s discount for people who qualify, not a promo code. An exit fee is a number you ask for. Availability is the premises, not the town. If you only remember one of those, remember the premises.

When the new service is up, return borrowed kit to the address the old provider named and keep proof of postage. Check the first bill against the price you were told, including the month the introductory rate ends. If it does not match, query it while the order email is still easy to find. A comparison is finished only when the bill matches the promise.