Broadband and Mobile Phones: Prices

(asked on 8th February 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the impact on consumers of recent and planned above inflation prices rises in mobile and broadband contracts.


Answered by
Julia Lopez Portrait
Julia Lopez
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This question was answered on 15th February 2022

We appreciate that price rises are never welcome, and we understand the recent increases announced by some operators may be particularly unwelcome given the wider pressures on the cost of living.

We are engaging with mobile and broadband providers to explore ways that they can provide support to households who may be facing challenges paying their bills.

The recent price increases announced by some providers are contained within the terms and conditions that consumers agreed to when taking out their service. We encourage customers to first check whether they are in contract or whether they might be able to leave without penalty. Figures released by Ofcom in November 2021, show that 35% of consumers in 2020 were out of contract, and the average out of contract broadband customer could save more than £61 a year by switching.

Consumers who are bound by their contract may benefit from speaking with their provider and discussing the options that may be available to support them.

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