Broadband is an essential for almost every households, but millions of us are paying more than we need to.
This page provides an overview of the main UK broadband providers, summarises recent industry news, and gives useful advice, as well as sources for further support.
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There are two main networks delivering broadband infrastructure in the UK – Openreach (the BT network) and Virgin Media. There is also a range of Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) providers who lay their own cables for high-speed broadband: Hyperoptic and Community Fibre are two examples. These providers currently have limited regional availability and may not always appear on price comparison sites.
You can easily switch between providers on the Openreach network (BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Plusnet, and Vodafone) but switching between Openreach and Virgin Media, or another FTTP provider, usually requires a visit from an engineer.
There are around 150 broadband companies in the UK, we have listed the largest here.
<aside> ☎️ Ofcom, the sector regulator, publishes an annual report on customer service levels.
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Many large broadband providers put prices up every year by the rate of inflation in a given month, plus an additional percentage. If your provider told you about this (even in the small print) when you signed up with them, you are unable to cancel if you’re in contract.
From January 2025 providers will no longer be permitted to do this.
They will still be able to increase prices during a contract, but they will have to tell customers upfront in ‘pounds and pence’ about expected increases.
| Broadband Providers | % increase (April 2021) | % increase (April 2022) | % increase (April 2023) | % increase (April 2024) | Mid-contract price rise policy | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Virgin Media | 4 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 8.8 | RPI + 3.9% | | BT | 4.5 | 9.3 | 14.4 | 7.9 | CPI + 3.9% | | EE | 4.5 | 9.3 | 14.4 | 7.9 | CPI + 3.9% | | Plusnet | 4.5 | 9.3 | 14.4 | 7.9 | CPI + 3.9% | | Vodafone | 4.5 | 9.3 | 14.4 | 7.9 | CPI + 3.9% | | TalkTalk | 4.3 | 9.1 | 14.2 | 7.7 | CPI + 3.7% | | Shell Energy Broadband | - | 6.1 | 13.5 | 7 | CPI + 3% |
| Broadband Providers | No price hikes announced |
|---|---|
| Now Broadband | Now doesn't peg its price rises to inflation. |
| Hyperoptic | Campaign against mid-contract price hikes |
| Cuckoo | Campaign against mid-contract price hikes |
| Utility Warehouse | Don’t have mid-contract price rises |
As well as increasing during your contract, it’s also common for your broadband bill to rise significantly once your contract has ended.
Broadband providers will often roll out-of-contract customers onto much pricier tariffs. If you’re out of contract, you can leave at any time, penalty-free. Given that broadband deals are often better for new customers there’s a high chance you’ll be able to save by switching to a new deal.
If you’re out of contract but don’t want to switch to a new provider, you could try haggling with your existing provider to see if they’ll offer you a better deal.
<aside> 🛠️ For the most up-to-date practical advice, read our guide to Saving money on broadband.
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