Openreach Confirm FTTC and SOGEA UK Broadband Price Rises and Discounts

Network access provider Openreach has also announced a bunch of separate but related changes across their range of Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC / VDSL2) and complementary SOGEA (standalone FTTC broadband etc.) broadband products for UK ISPs today, which reflects a mix of the usual annual price increase and some special offers.

Firstly, the FTTC broadband price increases follow the usual level of CPI inflation (3.6% at the time these were set) and will be introduced from 1st April 2026, which ISPs will often pass on to consumers. This is relevant because their hybrid fibre products are still widely used by consumers, even though they are being steadily cannibalised by often cheaper “full fibre” (FTTP) packages.

Separate to this, Openreach has also clarified how much they’ll charge for their 80Mbps download (20Mbps upload) FTTC/SOGEA tier once Ofcom makes it the new regulated (price capped) product from the same date (here), which will replace the previous 40Mbps tier in this role.

For example, the annual FTTC rental price that ISPs pay for this will fall from £154.32 at the usual full price to £92.28 at their discounted rate between 1st April 2026 to 31st March 2031. The SOGEA variant is a bit more expensive than that, although in both cases the pricing details could still be tweaked as the regulator has yet to finalise their forthcoming Telecoms Access Review 2026 (TAR).

Finally, the network operator has also introduced a special offer (here) on the rental price of their FTTC and SOGEA based 55Mbps (10Mbps upload) and 160Mbps (30Mbps) broadband products, which will run from 1st April 2026 to 31st March 2027 and is available to all ISPs across Great Britain and Northern Ireland (no providers will be subject to any commitments).

Openreach Statement

These offer prices are made available on the basis that the Communications Provider will pay the current standard prices for the services in accordance with the terms and conditions for the service for the periods March-August and September-February (“the 6 monthly cycle”). Openreach will, within 30 days of the end of each 6 monthly cycle, calculate and pay to the Communications Provider a rebate equal to the difference between the standard prices paid by the Communications Provider for the service and for that 6 monthly cycle and the offer price, with rebates made payable in October and April billing months. Any rebate is subject to the standard terms and conditions for the service.

During this period, their 55Mbps and 160Mbps FTTC tiers (160Mbps here means G.fast) will have annual rental prices of £92.28 (normally £130.32) and £121.84 (normally £178.20) +vat respectively. As above, the SOGEA variants of these are about twice as expensive.

Openreach has been putting out a lot of details, price changes and special offers lately, which makes it challenging to keep track of everything. Tis the season.