Broadband suppliers BT, EE, and Plusnet just made a small — but significant — tweak to the annual price rise policy that could save you from paying an extra £48 over the next 12 months. If you signed up for a new broadband contract with any of these brands after March 1, you'll no longer be eligible for the incoming price hike.
From April, millions of BT, EE, and Plusnet subscribers will see broadband bills increase by £4 per month.
If you're still within the minimum contract term, typically 12- to 24-months after you first joined a specific deal, there's nothing really that you can do about the incoming price hike. Sky is the only broadband provider that lets its users walk away penalty-free when a price rise is confirmed. For most brands, you'll just need to stump-up the extra cash.
The eagle-eyed team at ISPreview spotted the small tweak to the EE, Plusnet, and BT policy. In previous years, broadband subscribers who joined one of these firms just before the introduction of an annual price rise complained that it was unfair since they'd only enjoyed a (very) brief period at the lower monthly cost advertised when they made the switch. The latest shake-up provides a little more breathing room for newcomers.
Of course, there still has to be a cut-off date — and anyone who signed up for a new broadband deal, or renegotiated their existing one, back in February will be impacted by rising monthly bills from BT, EE, and Plusnet next month.
The change isn't the only change coming from BT and EE with this latest round of price hikes. Broadband users with either of these popular brands will be shifted to a new pricing system for mid-contract price increases.
The new "pounds and pence" system imposed by Ofcom means everyone gets hit with the same flat-rate increase – whether you're on a budget plan or splashing out on a premium package
| GETTY IMAGESLast January, Ofcom banned broadband providers from including inflation-linked price increases for new contracts. When you sign up for a new broadband contract with any UK supplier, you'll see a fixed annual price increase stated in pounds and pence at checkout.
Unlike relying on measures of inflation, like the CPI or RPI, which wouldn't be available to check months in advance when you switched to a new broadband deal, the "pounds and pence" approach is designed to make it easier to calculate how much you'll need to spend on broadband by the time the minimum term ends.
If you've signed up for a new broadband contract, or renegotiated your old one, since the ban on inflation-based price rises, your annual increase will always be stated in pounds. But if you've stuck with the same broadband plan for a few years, your increase might still be calculated based on measures of inflation in the UK.
That's about to change with the latest shake-up from BT and EE, which is bringing all broadband customers over to the new approach, so everyone will be subject to the same rules.
Before introducing the new rules for telecom brands, Ofcom published the above example to demonstrate how broadband companies should display mid-contract price rises following the shake-up | OFCOM PRESS OFFICE A statement from BT said: "We have listened and will begin moving those customers who contracted with us before we introduced our pounds and pence approach onto these terms as part of our price change this year.
"This change means all our customers will benefit from a transparent approach to pricing, aligned with Ofcom and Government priorities."
The change will take place from March 1, 2026 for any customer who is outside their minimum contract, which is typically around 24-months after you first signed up to your broadband deal. After the minimum term has expired, you'll be able to switch to a new supplier or deal without incurring any penalty fees.
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The statement from BT, which owns and operates EE and Plusnet, continues: "The date when this price change will apply will be confirmed in each customer’s price change notification.
"To be clear, these customers moving to pounds and pence terms are outside of the minimum term of their contract with us and will not be entered into a new minimum term contract. We are also not adjusting the annual price change for customers within the minimum term of their contract, something that has been heavily scrutinised recently.
"We will be contacting customers in the coming weeks with specific information relating to their pricing."
Here's where things get a bit tricky, though.
The new system means everyone gets hit with the same flat-rate increase – whether you're on a budget plan or splashing out on a premium package. For example, if you're paying around £22 a month for your broadband, you'll face the same £4 annual rise as someone forking out £40 to £60 monthly.
That's a much bigger chunk of your bill if you're on the cheaper deal.
Despite the effort to make prices clearer, this has caused criticism from those who are seeking a more budget-friendly contract. In some cases, when inflation is high, this "pounds and pence" method may prove to be beneficial. As an example, CPI hit a 40-year high of 11.1% post pandemic, which caused mid-contract price rises to surge.
If you're outside of the minimum term of your broadband contract, you can switch to a new supplier at any time without incurring any early exit fees. Broadband providers reserve their best deals to tempt newcomers to switch. As such, your loyalty to a specific broadband brand won't be rewarded, so we'd always recomend shopping around when you've reached the end of your current deal. At the very least, give your current supplier a call to discuss if you can switch to a better rate if you sign-up for a new minimum term contract, locking you in for another year or two.
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