Study Warns UK Students Face £142 Broadband Penalty Due to Shorter Deals

New research from Broadband Genie, which analysed the cost of 12-month and 24-month broadband deals from major UK providers during August 2025, claims to have found that 12-month broadband contracts “ideal for students” are on average 49% more expensive (costing £142.88 more a year) than two-year deals.

Virgin Media is said to have stood out as the “most extreme example“: its short-term option works out at £30.68 more every month, adding up to £368.12 extra per year. This is more than double the price of its two-year deal. But Virgin does provide student deals for shorter 9 month terms, but they were found to have “massive out-of-contract fees” – £29.99 in contract compared to £83.50 after the initial term (we’d of course assume that students cancel these at the end of their term).

Other big names also hit students hard. BT charges £185.99 more a year for a 12-month plan, Three UK adds £132 (albeit for a mobile broadband service), and Hyperoptic customers pay an extra £108.50. Even the ‘softer’ differences still sting: Plusnet tacks on £85.50, Cuckoo £72, and Onestream almost £46.

“Put simply, whichever way you look at it, students moving into new houses this September are almost guaranteed to be paying over the odds,” said the comparison site. But in fairness, the news that shorter contract terms cost more than longer ones won’t come as much of a surprise, as this is always how it’s worked (i.e. you take a risk on a longer term and, in exchange, the ISP gives you a lower price to reward that commitment).

Having said that, we’d broadly agree that it would still be nice to see ISPs offering more attractive student-specific packages. On the other hand, there is a massive amount of choice out there now and many students will be living in urban or semi-urban areas, which often also have access to cheaper and faster alternative networks. Suffice to say that the old advice to shop around before committing to something still rings true, but spread your net wider than the biggest ISPs.

However, if budget is a problem, then cheap mobile broadband (4G/5G) plans with “unlimited” usage are often a lot more effective today, although this may not suit if you expect to be a heavy internet user (highly plausible for students) or have others sharing the same connection with you. But it’s of course also worth checking out Virgin Media’s Student Deals and BT’s Student Deals, even if it’s just to help establish a useful base for comparison.