To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of recent significant increases in the prices of mobile phone and internet services on inflation; and what plans, if any, they have to address these rises with the providers of such services.
Answered on
5 July 2023
We understand that this is a difficult time for households across the country who are struggling with their bills as a result of the rise in the cost of living, and price rises at this time are particularly unwelcome.
The latest ONS data suggests that prices for telephone and telefax equipment and services (e.g. telecoms equipment such as telephones, fax machines as well as services including broadband and mobile airtime contracts) in the year to May 2023 increased 9.1% and contributed 0.2 percentage points of the 8.7% annual CPI rate published in May 2023.
Ofcom is undertaking a review into the transparency of in-contract price rises and expects to report by the end of the year. We look forward to their findings.
To support low-income families, the Government has worked closely with Ofcom and the industry to bring a range of social tariffs into the market. These low-cost, high-quality broadband and mobile offers are available from a range of providers, across 99% of the UK and start from as low as £10 per month.
More broadly, last June, as a result of Government negotiations, the telecoms sector agreed a set of public commitments to support their customers struggling with their broadband or mobile bills, including allowing households to switch to cheaper tariffs or enter into payment plans without penalty. We would urge anyone concerned about their telecom bills to contact their provider to discuss the support available.