Your phone bill may increase more than usual this spring (Picture: Getty)
Many mobile phone users will be hit with hefty bills this spring as mid contract price rises are set to be higher than usual.
Most mobile providers increase their prices each year, to account for rising costs, however, with inflation currently above 10%, phone bill costs are likely to leave a bigger dent in your wallet than usual from March onwards.
Most providers have based their price increases on either the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the Retail Price Index (RPI) which are two measures of calculating inflation.
CPI (which measures how much the cost of goods and services has risen in comparison with last year) is currently at 10.1% and RPI (which measures the change in the cost of house prices as well as of goods and services) is currently at 13.4%.
So, how will this affect your mobile contracts?
Here’s all you need to know about how much your phone bill will go up in spring 2023.
How much will mobile phone mid-contract bills go up in 2023?
EE
Many EE customers will see a 14.4% price rise this spring (Picture: Getty)
Network EE’s phone bills typically rise in line with CPI + 3.9%.
It says on its website that it has used December 2022’s CPI rate of 10.5% to work out the increase.
Therefore many customers can expect their phone bills to rise by 14.4% from March 31 2023. EE says this works out to around £1 per week extra on average.
O2
O2 is expected to announce their price increase in the coming days.
On its website, it says that customers can expect a bill increase to match RPI + 3.9%.
The provider will use January’s 13.4% RPI rate to work out the increase meaning that many customers can expect their bills to rise by 17.3% from April 1 2023.
O2 also told The Guardian that the increase will apply to calls and data only, rather than the part of your bill covering the cost of your handset.
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Vodafone
Vodafone’s increase will be the CPI rate + 3.9%, and will likely come into effect from April 2023.
Last year’s information, published on the official website, states that customers whose contracts began from August 11, 2021 or from December 9, 2020 will be subject to the extra charge.
It also says the CPI rate used is from January’s 10.1% CPI rate – which is usually outlined in the terms and conditions.
For customers on Vodafone EVO, the increase only applies to the Airtime Plan, not the payment for your device, which is separate.
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Three
For Three customers, how much your phone bill will increase by depends on when your contract started.
If you joined or upgraded on or after November 1, 2022, your bill will increase by December’s CPI rate + 3.9% from April every year. So for April 2023, your increase will total 14.4%.
If you joined or upgraded between October 29, 2020 and October 31, 2022, then your bill will increase by 4.5% annually in April.
If you’re unsure which increase will affect you, contact the provider or check the terms and conditions of your contract for further details.
BT Mobile
All BT mobile customers will see price hikes this spring (Picture: Getty)
BT Mobile has confirmed that all mobile customers will see bills rise by 14.4%, effective March 31, 2023.
This figure has been worked out using December 2022’s CPI rate + 3.9% as an additional uplift.
On the BT website, the company has clarified that this increase includes the following plans and services:
BT 4G Home Broadband Unlimited hub (except the 15Mbps plan)
All SIM Only and Family SIM plans
All handset plans
Add-ons
Out-of-bundle calls and texts, and pence-per-minute rates
Out-of-bundle charges such as roaming.
It also adds that: ‘BT 4G 15Mbps Home Broadband Unlimited plan, your price will increase only by December’s CPI rate, published in January.’
If you have other BT services – Landline, Broadband, TV or BT Sport or – check the website for more information on how your bills will be impacted.
