ISP Sky Broadband Reveals 1st April 2018 Price Increases UPDATE2

Last week we warned that UK customers of Sky Broadband could expect to be hit with price increases from 1st April 2018 (here) and we now have some details of what will be changing, which reflects a rise of about 3.48% on the current pricing.

Annual price rises are common amongst all of the major broadband providers and some, such as BT, can be particularly crafty by sneaking in more than one hike a year (usually by introducing next year’s changes a few months’ earlier than in the previous year). In Sky Broadband’s case their last broadband increase was introduced on 1st March 2017 (here), while their 2018 rise will impact one month later (kinder than others).

Customers are now starting to be notified and we understand that the following services will be going up in price.

Sky Price Rises for 1st April 2018 (Excluding Discounts)

* Sky Broadband Unlimited (17Mbps) from £28.99 to £30
* Sky Fibre 25GB (38Mbps) from £28.99 to £30
* Sky Sports (31 Day Contract) from £27.50 to £28

At the time of writing we’ve not seen any mention of a price rise for Sky’s “Unlimited” Fibre packages (they seem to have escaped). Otherwise the £1.01 increase on broadband reflects a rise of around 3.48% and it should be noted that this is below the current level of RPI inflation (4% in January 2018).

The related Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) for Sky Broadband may offer some hope since they don’t specifically reference inflation rises, which suggests that you might still be able to leave your contract penalty free (provided you inform them within 30 days of the notification).

Extract from Sky’s T&C

Unless we increase it for any of the reasons set out in Condition 6(c), you can also end the Contract during your Minimum Term if we increase your Sky Broadband Payment. If you wish to end this Contract for these reasons, then you need to let us know within 30 days of notice of the change (Conditions 7, 11(c) and 11(d)).

Condition 6(c)

We may also increase your Sky Broadband Payment if required by law or if any regulatory authority requests or requires a change to any aspect of our pricing, including to reflect a change in the rate of VAT or other applicable taxation charge or levy, which affects your Sky Broadband Payment directly or our pricing structure generally.

We will use our reasonable endeavours to notify you before any price increase takes effect under this Condition 6(c). Your Sky Broadband Payment will also change if you are permitted to change Products, or in line with our Usage Policies, if we upgrade your Product to one with a higher Usage Cap or charge you for going over your Usage Cap.

Ofcom requires (here and here) that allowable increases linked to RPI be “drawn specifically to the consumer’s attention and information reflecting them should be provided transparently in marketing material and at point of sale,” which doesn’t seem to be the case with Sky’s service.

Stephen van Rooyen, Sky UK CEO, told ISPreview.co.uk:

“Not all customers will see their bills increase with many Sky products remaining at their current price and, for some products, this will be the first increase in two years. We continue to invest in content, products and services that our customers love, offering both new and existing customers great value and more choice through flexible packages.”

We should point out that most of the major ISPs will increase their prices by a similar or greater amount at least once a year. One reason for this is because we’re all consuming much more data than before and ISP’s have to compensate for the flexibility of their “unlimited” allowances somewhere.

At the same time providers are also under lots of pressure to adopt various new rules and regulations, such as the system for sending millions of copyright warning emails / “subscriber alerts” (here). Not to mention new internet snooping measures (here) and plans for automatic compensation (here), as well as the need to introduce new content or services.

As usual customers could also use such increases as an opportunity to haggle for a lower price (Retentions – Tips for Cutting Your Broadband Bill Without Switching ISP), although your success here may vary.

UPDATE 12:42pm

Added a comment from Sky’s CEO above.

UPDATE 26th Feb 2018

We knew that call prices (Sky Talk) were also set for increases and the following have now been confirmed. Users of Sky Voicemail certainly won’t be pleased.

From 1 stMay 2018, the following changes will apply:

Connection Charge

The connection fee for Pay as You Talk and non-inclusive calls on other packages (including calls exceeding one hour) will increase from 19p to 22p, unless a separate connection fee or minimum fee is specified. Connection fees do not apply to:

• Free, inclusive or unlimited calls (including those that commence within an uncharged period but end in a charged period)

• Fixed fee calls

• Calls charged by timed duration that start with a fixed fee

• Calls to service numbers (084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers)

• Calls to personal numbering charge-band pn7

UK Mobile call rates

The charge for Pay As You Talk calls and non-inclusive calls on other packages to UK mobiles made during the evening will increase from 14.25p per minute to 17p per minute.

UK Landline Rates

The charge for non-inclusive calls to UK landlines will increase from 12.54p per minute to 14.65p per minute.

Calls to Isle of Man Mobiles

The charge-band for Isle of Man mobiles (starting [076 & 0745]) has been changed and calls to these numbers will be charged at 55p per minute.

Access Charge

The access charge for calls to service numbers (starting 084, 087, 09 and 118) will increase from 11.5p per minute to 13p per minute.

Acceptable use policy for inclusive calls to 0845 and 0870 numbers

Inclusive calls to service numbers starting 0845 and 0870 will be limited to 150 calls or 1000 minutes per month, whichever is reached first. This is what we consider to be reasonable usage of your Sky Talk Calls package for domestic purposes. After this, calls to these numbers will be charged at our standard rates (13p per minute access charge plus service charge).

Sky Voicemail

From 1 April 2018, the charge for Sky Voicemail (1571) will increase by £0.75 from £1.25 to £2.00 per month.