Rival UK ISP Fibrus Criticises BT Over Broadband Price Hikes

The CEO of Infracapital backed broadband ISP Fibrus, Dominic Kearns, has said he’s “horrified” at BT’s recent 9.3% price hike (here) and, unlike the incumbent, pledges that they “will not be putting our prices up.” The provider is currently building a new full fibre network across parts of Northern Ireland and Northern England.

We should point out that BT are by no means the only provider increasing their prices by a similar level this year, with EE, Plusnet, Vodafone, O2, TalkTalk, Shell Energy and Virgin Mobile all being lined up to follow a similar model. Meanwhile, KCOM scrapped a similar price increase for 2022 and other providers, such as Virgin Media and Sky Broadband, appear to be sticking to the old model of fixed price increases.

Fibrus’ commitment is to be welcomed, although it should be said that this is not spoken as a lifetime guarantee and should thus perhaps only be taken as a commitment for the coming year.

Dominic Kearns, Chief Executive of Fibrus, said:

“Here at Fibrus we are horrified at BT’s recent 10% price increase. We cannot believe that the company that withheld proper broadband from rural and regional consumers in Northern Ireland for so long has now decided to increase prices for hard pressed consumers already struggling with record energy bills.

Unlike the phone companies we will not be putting our prices up.

Fibrus is connecting communities and providing world-class broadband services and we know that shouldn’t mean higher prices for consumers. Broadband connectivity has become an essential utility, especially for those living and working in rural and regional areas, so it is crucial that it is as accessible as possible to enable local businesses and communities to flourish.

At a time when household running costs are spiking for families across the UK and Ireland, we want to protect our customers, not punish them and will do everything we can to ensure our broadband prices stay as low as possible. For us, adding additional pressures on consumers is outrageous at a time like this as many are already struggling to make ends meet. BT should explain to their customers exactly how this extreme price hike is justified, because we believe it is not.

Fibrus is a local business for local people, and we will continue to play our part in helping to support local communities. Unlike other suppliers we do not implement in-contract price increases, so there will be no price rise for Fibrus customers.”

End.