Ofcom's New Broadband Price Rise Rules Explained (2026 Update)
Last reviewed: 16 April 2026 · By the BroadbandSwitch.uk editorial team
In one minute: Since 17 January 2025, Ofcom has banned UK broadband, mobile and pay-TV providers from writing inflation-linked mid-contract price rises into any new contract. Any future rise must be stated in pounds and pence, with the exact date it takes effect, before you sign up. The rules are not retrospective, so millions of UK households on older contracts are still seeing inflation-linked rises in 2026. If your provider raises prices beyond what was agreed at sign-up, you have the right to exit your contract penalty-free within 30 days of being notified. And one provider, Sky, still gives every affected customer a 30-day exit window every time prices go up. That is a genuine opportunity to save.
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What changed on 17 January 2025
For years, most major UK broadband providers quietly wrote a clause into your contract that let them lift your monthly price each spring by the rate of inflation (CPI or RPI) plus an extra 3.7 to 3.9 percentage points. The problem, as Ofcom's own research showed, is that hardly anyone understood it. More than half of broadband customers (55%) did not know what CPI or RPI actually measured, and only a small minority on inflation-linked deals knew both that a rise was coming and that it was inflation-linked with an extra percentage on top (Ofcom, 2024a).
When inflation spiked above 10% in early 2023, customers who signed a £30-a-month deal suddenly faced real-terms bill increases of £4 or more a month, with no way to exit penalty-free (MoneySavingExpert.com, 2024). Ofcom decided the model was unfair because customers were shouldering inflation risk they neither understood nor could reasonably predict.
The new rules came into force on 17 January 2025 under Ofcom's General Condition C1 (Ofcom, 2025). Providers selling any new contract from that date onwards must show:
- The starting monthly price in pounds and pence.
- The exact pounds-and-pence amount of any future rise.
- The specific date each rise takes effect.
This information must be prominent and transparent at the point of sale, whether you are signing up online, in-store or on the phone. Providers must brief staff and update sales scripts so customers are clearly informed before they commit. Non-compliance risks enforcement action and financial penalties.
The catch: your old contract still follows the old rules
The reform is not retrospective. If you signed your current broadband contract before your provider's cut-off date, you are still on the old inflation-linked formula for the rest of your term. In practice, that means the April 2026 price rise you received may still be calculated as CPI or RPI plus 3.9% rather than a fixed pounds-and-pence number.
Most providers switched to pounds-and-pence pricing ahead of the Ofcom deadline, though the exact cut-off varies (Uswitch, 2026):
- BT, EE and Plusnet: pounds-and-pence rises for contracts taken from 10 April 2024.
- Vodafone: for contracts taken from 2 July 2024.
- TalkTalk: for contracts taken from 12 August 2024.
- Three Broadband: for contracts taken from 1 September 2024.
- Virgin Media: for contracts taken from 9 January 2025.
- Sky: Sky has always been an exception because it does not write a fixed annual rise into its terms at all. See the Sky section below.
If your contract predates your provider's cut-off, the 2026 increase follows the old CPI or RPI formula written into your original terms. You can usually find this in your welcome email or your online account, under "contract summary" or "price plan". Our page on in-contract price rises in 2026 has the detail for each major provider.
Every major provider's 2026 price rise, compared
The table below shows the fixed pounds-and-pence rises that applied in spring 2026 for customers on new-style contracts, collated from Uswitch (2026) and MoneySavingExpert.com (2026a).
| Provider | Monthly rise | Date applied | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| BT | £4 | 31 March 2026 | Almost every customer affected |
| EE | £4 | 31 March 2026 | Social tariff customers exempt |
| Plusnet | £4 | 31 March 2026 | Matches BT Group policy |
| Virgin Media | £4 | 1 April 2026 | All broadband customers |
| Sky | £3 | 1 April 2026 | 30-day penalty-free exit for all affected |
| Vodafone | £3.50 | 1 April 2026 | For new-style contracts |
| TalkTalk | £3 to £4 | 1 April 2026 | Varies by package |
| NOW Broadband | £3 | 1 April 2026 | Aligned with Sky |
Smaller altnet providers such as Community Fibre, Hyperoptic, YouFibre, Cuckoo and Zen typically either freeze prices for the duration of your contract or apply very modest rises. It is always worth reading your welcome pack to check the exact rules that apply to you.
Sky: the outlier that could save you money
Sky has never written a fixed annual price rise into its broadband, TV or mobile contracts. That has a big advantage for customers: when Sky raises prices mid-contract, every affected customer can leave penalty-free within 30 days of being notified (MoneySavingExpert.com, 2026a).
In February 2026, Sky notified customers of a £3-a-month rise to broadband from 1 April. Anyone affected who acted inside the 30-day window could switch provider without exit fees. If you missed this year's window, diarise "watch for Sky price rise email" for around 18 February 2027. Our Sky broadband deals page lists current tariffs if you want to benchmark before a haggle call.
Sky customer, caught in the 30-day window? Use the exit right. Compare deals for your exact address on our postcode comparison page before you phone Sky retention. It gives you real alternative prices, which turns your call from a plea into a negotiation.
Your legal right to exit penalty-free
Under Ofcom's General Condition C1, you have the right to exit your contract without an early termination charge if your provider changes the price or terms in a way you did not agree to at sign-up (Ofcom, 2025). You must act within 30 days of being notified. If a rise is fixed and agreed at sign-up (the new pounds-and-pence model), no exit right applies, because you already consented to it.
Sky is the exception that proves the rule. Because Sky does not write a fixed rise into its contracts, any rise Sky imposes is technically a change of terms, which triggers the 30-day exit right every year (MoneySavingExpert.com, 2026a).
What to do when you get your price rise letter
- Read it carefully. Check whether the rise matches what you agreed at sign-up (for new-style contracts) or is calculated using the old CPI+3.9% formula. If the rise exceeds what was agreed, or arrives on a different date, you have 30 days to exit penalty-free.
- Note the 30-day deadline. The clock starts from the notification date, not the date the rise actually takes effect. Many customers leave it too late and miss the window.
- Compare alternatives. Use our postcode comparison tool to see what deals are available at your exact address. Altnet fibre providers often undercut the big six by £5 to £15 a month.
- Haggle first if you want to stay. In MSE's January 2026 poll, 65% of Sky broadband customers who tried to haggle got a better deal, along with 85% of Virgin Media customers and 73% of TalkTalk customers (MoneySavingExpert.com, 2026b). Our save money on broadband guide has scripts that work.
- Switch if you cannot get a fair deal. One Touch Switch makes this simple. See the section below.
Switching made easier: One Touch Switch
Since 12 September 2024, the UK has used a single process called One Touch Switch for almost all residential broadband moves (Which?, 2024). You tell your new provider you want to switch; they handle the rest, including cancelling your old contract. No awkward retention call unless you want one. In its first year, 1.6 million UK customers used the process. Our One Touch Switch guide explains how it works step by step.
How mid-contract rises compare to setup fees and router costs
When comparing deals, a pounds-and-pence rise is just one part of the total cost. A £30 headline price with a £4 April rise actually costs you £34 a month for the remaining 11 months of year one, then £38 for year two. That is around £40 more per year than the headline suggests. Setup fees, router fees and return charges can add another £20 to £100 on top. Our total broadband contract cost guide walks through the full arithmetic.
What happens if your provider gets it wrong
If a provider fails to implement the new rules correctly, customers can complain and, after eight weeks or a deadlock letter, escalate to an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme such as the Communications Ombudsman or CISAS. Ofcom can also take enforcement action against providers. In early 2026, some Sky customers were initially told they would face termination charges for using the 30-day exit right; these cases were resolved once they were flagged (MoneySavingExpert.com, 2026a). The lesson: know your rights and stand firm.
Common questions
My contract was signed before 17 January 2025. Does the new rule apply to me?
Not until you renew. Your existing contract follows the old CPI+3.9% formula until it ends. When you switch or renew, any new contract must follow the pounds-and-pence rules.
Can I exit penalty-free if I think the rise is unfair?
Only if the rise was not fixed at sign-up or is higher than what you agreed. On a new-style contract with a pre-agreed £4 rise, you have no exit right for that specific rise. On a Sky contract, you have an exit right because Sky did not fix the rise at sign-up.
What about social tariff customers?
Most providers exempt social tariff customers from annual rises. Check with your provider and see our social tariffs guide to see if you qualify for a cheaper plan.
Does this apply to mobile and pay-TV too?
Yes. The same Ofcom rules cover mobile, pay-TV and pay-monthly handset contracts (Ofcom, 2024b).
Will prices stop rising altogether now?
No. Providers can still raise prices, but you will know exactly what you signed up to. That is the whole point of the reform: transparency, not price control.
Your next step
Whether your rise has landed already or you are bracing for your renewal date, the quickest way to turn uncertainty into savings is to see what else is available at your address. Altnet fibre, new provider promotions and bundle discounts change week by week, so a postcode comparison is the best place to start.
Compare broadband by postcode →
Related reading
- In-contract price rises in 2026
- Broadband price rises explained
- How to save money on broadband
- Switch before your contract ends and still save money
- One Touch Switch UK explained
- Social tariffs in the UK
References
MoneySavingExpert.com. (2024). Ofcom to ban broadband, TV and mobile firms from linking mid-contract price rises to inflation. Retrieved from moneysavingexpert.com
MoneySavingExpert.com. (2026a, February 18). Sky to hike broadband and TV prices from April: you've got 30 days to check if you can switch, save and cancel penalty-free. Retrieved from moneysavingexpert.com
MoneySavingExpert.com. (2026b). Broadband haggling: slash your internet and line rental bills. Retrieved from moneysavingexpert.com
Ofcom. (2024a). Ofcom bans mid-contract price rises linked to inflation. Retrieved from ofcom.org.uk
Ofcom. (2024b). Protecting consumers from uncertain and volatile inflation-linked price rises. Retrieved from ofcom.org.uk
Ofcom. (2025). General Condition C1: contract information and requirements. Retrieved from ofcom.org.uk
Uswitch. (2026). Mid-contract price rises explained. Retrieved from uswitch.com
Which? (2024). How One Touch Switch makes it easier to switch broadband provider. Retrieved from which.co.uk
Written and reviewed by the BroadbandSwitch.uk editorial team. See our methodology and trust hub and editorial policy for how we research and update our guides.