Millions of UK mobile and broadband users face 14% bill rises from April

As if household budgets were not already under enough pressure, millions of broadband and mobile phone customers look set to face rises of more than 14% in their monthly bills from April 2023. BT, TalkTalk, Three, and Vodafone are among the big operators that are contractually allowed to increase their bills in line with the previous year’s inflation rate, as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI) in December – plus a further 3%-3.9% on top. If the increases are passed on in full, as many experts expect, it would result in home broadband customers typically paying about £50 ($60) a year more, while mobile phone customers on expensive contracts could face rises of more than £100 ($123). The Office for National Statistics said the CPI rate fell back slightly to 10.5%. It means there is nothing to stop the telecommunications providers from increasing bills by 13%-14.4%. Although suppliers could surprise customers and withhold part of the increase, consumers can start looking forward to a flurry of announcements before April. Companies have to give customers 30 days’ notice of price increases but have so far been tight-lipped as to whether bills will rise by the maximum. Consumer groups are calling on households who are out of the contract to use this as a catalyst to move to a new deal.