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 broadband providers currently raise their prices each year while you're still in contract.
Previously prices went up by the rate of inflation plus an extra percentage. As long as they mentioned this when you signed up – even in the small print – you aren’t able to cancel without paying a fee.
From January 2025, this is changing
Broadband companies will no longer be allowed to link price rises to inflation. If they want to raise prices mid-contract, they’ll have to tell you exactly how much more you’ll pay — in pounds and pence — before you sign up.
However, the rules don’t apply to older contracts and many customers will still see inflation-linked increases this year.
| Broadband Providers | Inflation-linked price rise policy | Inflation linked price rise, April 2025 | New flat rate monthly price rise, April 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virgin Media | RPI + 3.9% | 7.5% | £3.50 |
| BT | CPI + 3.9% | 6.4% | £3 |
| EE | CPI + 3.9% | 6.4% | £3 |
| Plusnet | CPI + 3.9% | 6.4% | £3 |
| Vodafone | CPI + 3.9% | 6.4% | £3 |
| TalkTalk | CPI + 3.7% | 6.2% | £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.