WIREDGOV

New data published today by the telecoms watchdog has pinpointed areas where millions of phone, broadband and pay-TV customers could save money on their bills. 

In the UK’s competitive telecoms markets, there are great deals on offer and companies are investing in their networks to deliver more choice and better quality. Ofcom’s job is to make sure people can take advantage of what’s available and choose what’s right for them. 

In recent years, we’ve made it easier for people to shop around and save, by introducing end-of-contract alerts, simpler contract summaries, and easier switching processes for broadband and mobile. 

Our annual pricing and consumer engagement report is the most comprehensive analysis of what’s happening in the UK’s phone, broadband and pay-TV markets. Overall, consumers are getting more for less, but this year’s research shines a light on areas where millions of people could make big savings on their bills. 

Overall prices are falling...

According to our research, average broadband prices available in the market fell in real terms last year, especially for faster services. Across various different speeds, prices decreased by 6% on average. In many cases, customers can switch to a faster, more reliable full-fibre broadband service and pay the same, or less, than they currently do for a copper or part-fibre service.  

We have also found that SIM-only mobile plans are gaining in popularity. For the first time, they now account for half of pay-monthly subscriptions, up from 44% a year previously. Last year, average prices for SIM-only plans with unlimited data fell by 8% in real terms, and there are SIM-only deals available for less than £5 a month. 

...despite mid-contract price rises

While some providers have contracts with a fixed price, many offer an initial price at the start of the contract before raising them. However, because overall prices have consistently fallen in real terms in recent years, people can keep their overall long-term spend flat, or even reduce it in real terms, if they sign up to a new contract at a lower price whenever their initial contract period ends. 

Savings for out-of-contract customers

Our latest data indicates that 28% of broadband customers are out of contract. On average, customers who are in contract spend between £7 and £9 a month less than out-of-contract customers. 

This difference narrowed significantly last year, but it’s still the case that most out-of-contract customers could save money. They could do this by simply talking to their current provider and signing up to a new deal with them. 

Switching to a new provider

People could also save by moving to a different provider, and more broadband customers are doing this since we made the process quicker and easier. Last year, 18% of households switched internet provider, up from 14% in 2023. 

This increase follows the roll-out of new full-fibre broadband networks, and the introduction of a new One Touch Switch process in September 2024, which has been used by over 2 million customers. 

Broadband ‘altnets’ are often cheaper

Around eight in 10 UK homes now have access to faster, more reliable full-fibre broadband, following the deployment of new networks by Openreach, Virgin Media O2 and a wide range of new challenger firms, often referred to as ‘altnets’. This means people now have more choice. 

Our analysis suggests that pricing competition between established providers and newer ones has intensified over the past year. Altnets often offer lower prices than the established companies, to attract customers, and larger providers’ prices are falling closer to those offered by the new challenger firms. 

Mobile budget brands

Similar to broadband, the largest mobile operators’ main brands tend to be more expensive. Over the last four years, the lowest mobile prices have been offered either by mobile virtual network operators, which piggyback off the main mobile networks, or by the largest companies’ budget brands.

In recent years, these brands have consistently offered deals that are between 40% and 50% cheaper than average prices. Check out comparison sites accredited by Ofcom to see what’s on offer. 

Unused landlines

Five years ago, nearly all broadband tariffs included a landline. However, standalone broadband services are now widely available, and are proving to be popular. 

Last year, 70% of households that bought their broadband and landline together did not make an outgoing call. Many of these customers could save by switching to a standalone broadband service, which typically costs about £7 a month less than broadband with a landline. 

Unused mobile data

Our analysis of mobile data consumption shows that 29% of pay-monthly users consume 2 GB of data or less per month. While 39% of pay-monthly customers take a service with over 50 GB of inclusive data per month, only 5% use that much data. 

Most pay-monthly mobile customers (55%) use 20% or less of their monthly data allowance, with a further 17% using between 20% and 40% of what their tariff offers. This suggests that many customers may be able to save money by choosing a tariff with a data allowance that better matches their needs. 

Bundles are generally cheaper

Our analysis found that most households who bundle their telecoms services together benefit from lower prices, compared to those who buy them separately, with savings ranging from £26 to £48 a month. 

Pay-TV services, in particular, have become cheaper when taken as part of a bundle. When bundled with broadband and landline, the estimated average price when people take a contract for pay TV in a bundle fell by 23% in real terms last year to £12 a month. 

More people taking up social tariffs

These cheaper packages for people claiming certain benefits range from £12.50 to £24 a month for broadband. We can’t force telecoms companies to offer them, but we’ve been pressing firms to do so, and the number of tariffs available has grown from just three in 2020 to more than 30. 

Our new data shows that 532,000 customers were using a social tariff in June 2025, up 26,000 from the previous year. However, 70% of eligible households don’t know they exist. We continue to press companies to do the right thing and raise awareness among their customers.