How can broadband providers justify annual price increases ?

Parkhall

Luckily I don't have water or gas bills.

Grumpy_chap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81884733#Comment_81884733

Nearly all of the internet service providers use the same infrastructure.

It is only the likes of Virgin or Starlink that use a different infrastructure.

shiraz99

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81884778#Comment_81884778

Not to mention all the other alt nets on City Fibre infrastructure.

daveyjp

it seems to be the model adopted by those operating over Openreach. As above Cityfibre have ISPs offering 18-24 month fixed contracts, no mid contract increases and they are getting cheaper as competition increases.

iniltous

BT offer 12 month contracts and contracts with no mid term increases , I dare say others do too, City Fibre isn’t a great comparison, a company desperate to get customers (direct and indirect) on board so sell their products below cost , something Openreach are not allowed to do …possibly good for customers that are nimble and simply cash in while prices are low but it’s not a viable long term proposition.

Parkhall

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81884932#Comment_81884932

Yes I checked that out. The BT 12 month deal is £30.99. The two year deal is £25.99 rising by £4 per year. They always get their money somehow.

iniltous

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81885053#Comment_81885053

Care to share your current provider and the package you are on , and how much you pay on an out of contract basis so that can be compared to what a new customer or renewing customer would pay on that package (or near equivalent if it’s no longer sold ) , as it’s not really controversial stating the out of contract price with providers is more expensive than the same package within a minimum term , if you are then in that position, you are the exception rather than the rule .

born_again

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6655342/how-can-broadband-providers-justify-annual-price-increases

Inflation is nothing compared too.

Have you not heard how business rates have gone up, also employees getting paid more & gov raking more per employee.

Never mind cost of maintaining infrastructure…

onomatopoeia99

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81884733#Comment_81884733

ISPs can pay for different levels of service from Openreach. The ISP I use can get same day or next day appointments, others you might be waiting several days.

My ISP has only ever changed the price I pay when I change product in the 23 years I've been with them. No annual increases.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81884733#Comment_81884733

OpenReach are still part of BT but they have to operate as if they were independent to manage the conflicts of interest given BT had an effective monopoly (outside of Hull).

The idea is that they all have access to the same levels from OpenReach else BT could reassert its monopoly by ensuring its own customers get prioritised. If OpenReach offer grades of support and who takes what grade is another matter. I suspect not but in theory it could happen. Certainly in other areas of business which a similar type of setup you could pay more to have your customers prioritised over others.