UK broadband prices rising again as Ofcom review drags on - who is getting the best deal

[Oscar_38]

UK broadband providers have implemented above-inflation price rises in 2026, continuing a pattern that began in 2022 when BT, Sky and Virgin Media all linked annual increases to CPI plus a fixed percentage. Ofcom has been reviewing this practice but reforms have been slow. Average broadband bills in the UK have risen significantly over the past three years while actual infrastructure investment has been uneven.

For consumers the practical options are: stay loyal and absorb the increases, call and threaten to leave for a retention deal, actually switch to one of the cheaper providers, or move to a full fibre provider where the infrastructure is in place. The market varies significantly by area depending on which network infrastructure is available.

[Lucky Dean]

The call and threaten to leave tactic still works for most major providers and I have used it every contract renewal for five years. The retention deal is almost always better than the published price for new customers. The people who do not call pay hundreds more per year than people who do

[Ria99]

Switching is easier now than it used to be because Ofcom implemented one-touch switching in 2024. You no longer have to cancel with the old provider separately - the new provider manages the whole process. That removed most of the friction that kept people on expensive contracts

[Marcus11]

The postcode lottery reality: if you are in a full-fibre area the competition between providers is more intense and the prices are lower for better speeds. If you are in a legacy copper area you are often stuck with fewer options and higher relative prices for inferior infrastructure

[Reacher Quarry]

Community Fibre in London, Brsk in the North, Airband in rural areas and several others are offering genuinely competitive full fibre at lower prices than the incumbents. They are not available everywhere but if they are in your area they are almost always worth switching to

[IdleWarden]

The CPI-linked price rise model that BT and Sky used is being wound down following Ofcom pressure but the damage to consumer trust is already done. People who locked into 18-month contracts with those clauses felt genuinely misled and many switched immediately on expiry

[RatedRStu10]

The honest comparison is not monthly price but total cost of ownership over two years including setup fees, router quality, actual speeds at peak time versus advertised and the quality of customer service when things go wrong. On that basis the cheapest headline deal is rarely the best value

[Outlaw]

Sick of the increases