Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: Social Tariff (16 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - Social Tariff

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SMF Proposes New Approach to UK Broadband Social Tariffs

28th September, 2023 (29 Comments)

A new report from the Social Market Foundation (SMF), which is a British cross-party think-tank, has recommended that companies providing essentials (broadband, energy, water and transport) are made to offer Social Tariffs to vulnerable customers “in a consistent manner” in order to ensure all eligible users can benefit.

ISP Vodafone UK Launch Faster 73Mb Broadband Social Tariff

19th July, 2023 (39 Comments)

Mobile network operator and broadband ISP Vodafone UK has today added a second social broadband tariff for those on state benefits (e.g. Universal Credit), which is called ‘Fibre 2 Essentials‘ and costs a bit more than their existing ‘Essentials Broadband‘ plan, but will give you faster speeds of up to 73Mbps.

Survey Claims Some UK People Struggle to Pay Broadband Bills

13th July, 2023 (22 Comments)

A new Which? survey conducted by Yonder has claimed that 7.2% of households missed a bill or housing payment during June 2023 and, among those who missed one or more bills, 32% struggled to pay for broadband and / or TV, rising to 42% for energy bills, 40% for council tax and 38% for water.

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Ofcom UK to Publish Take-up of Social Tariffs by Provider

13th July, 2023 (9 Comments)

Ofcom has published an update on its action plan to support broadband and mobile customers during the cost-of-living crisis, which once again calls on UK ISPs to take “immediate action” to boost the take-up of cheaper social tariffs (available to those on state benefits) and promises to publish take-up data for each provider.

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48% of Low Income Pensioners Struggle to Pay Broadband Bills

13th July, 2023 (20 Comments)

A new YouGov survey of 1,150 adults aged 65+ in England, which was commissioned by older people’s charity Independent Age, has claimed that 48% of respondents on a low income (under £15k a year) have struggled to keep up with their broadband ISP bill in the last 6 months (20% of those found it a constant struggle and 28% struggled from time to time).

Lords Committee – UK Gov Needs Credible Plan to Tackle Digital Exclusion

29th June, 2023 (6 Comments)

A new Lords Committee report has today become the latest to try and tackle the age-old problem of Digital Exclusion (i.e. getting everybody online and ensuring they have the right skills). The Committee finds that the scale of the problem is a “direct consequence of political lethargy” and highlights the UK Government’s “lack of a credible plan.”

Digital Poverty Alliance Calls on UK Gov to Cut VAT on Broadband to 5%

23rd May, 2023 (9 Comments)

The Digital Poverty Alliance (DPA) has published their 2023 National Delivery Plan, which calls on the UK Government to help support ISPs to get more people in disadvantaged groups online, such as by cutting Value Added Tax on broadband ISP and mobile bills to just 5% (currently 20%) – similar to other utility services.

Citizens Advice Claim 1 Million UK Peeps Disconnected Broadband in Last Year UPDATE

18th May, 2023 (9 Comments)

A new survey of over 6,000 adults in the UK, which was conducted by consumer charity Citizen’s Advice, claims to have uncovered that “up to” 1 million broadband customers “disconnected” their broadband ISP connection over the past year because the cost-of-living crisis left them unable to afford it.

Ofcom – Only 220,000 UK Homes on Cheaper Social Broadband Tariffs

24th April, 2023 (11 Comments)

Ofcom has today published their latest UK consumer affordability report, which finds the take-up of cheaper social broadband ISP and mobile tariffs for those on state benefits has increased to 220,000 households (up from 136,000 six months ago). But that still represents just 5.1% of households on Universal Credit (4.3 million).

Broadband ISP MTH Networks Softens UK Price Rises on OFNL

5th April, 2023 (5 Comments)

Internet provider MTH Networks, which sells full fibre (FTTP) broadband packages to customers covered by several different UK networks (e.g. Openreach, OFNL, Glide), has softened their approach to annual price rises for those on OFNL’s network (usually serves new build homes) and introduced a new social tariff.

Full Fibre Broadband ISP 4th Utility Cut Price of Social Tariff

4th April, 2023 (7 Comments)

UK ISP 4th Utility, which is deploying a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to more homes (SDU) and large residential blocks (MDU), has today announced that they’ve reduced the price of their cheaper social tariff for those on benefits from £14.40 to £13.99 per month – bucking the trend of rising prices.

Virgin Media UK Make it Easier to Take Social Broadband Tariff

1st March, 2023 (17 Comments)

Broadband ISP Virgin Media UK (VMO2) has today become the latest national provider to adopt a new system from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which makes it easier for those on state benefits to be approved to take their cheaper “Essential Broadband” social tariff.

Openreach Unlikely to Launch Social Broadband Tariff for UK ISPs

13th February, 2023 (35 Comments)

A growing number of ISPs have introduced cheaper Social Tariffs over the past year – aimed at those on benefits who are most exposed to the UK’s cost-of-living crisis. As part of this, some providers have called on Openreach to launch social tariff products at wholesale to support them, but there’s so far no indication of that happening.

Smarty UK Launch Cheap 5G Mobile Unlimited Data Social Tariff UPDATE

9th February, 2023 (12 Comments)

Mobile network operator Smarty has quietly added the ‘SMARTY Social Tariff‘ to their website, which as the name suggests is a low-cost unlimited data (mobile broadband), calls and texts (SMS) plan that is only available to those on eligible state benefits and costs just £12 per month.

CEO of UK ISP BT Warns of Unsustainable Social Broadband Tariffs

28th November, 2022 (29 Comments)

The CEO of BT’s Consumer division, Marc Allera, will this week warn the Government’s Digital Infrastructure Minister, Julia Lopez, that the improved and cheaper social broadband and phone tariffs that they’re now offering to customers on benefits (Home Essentials) will eventually become “unsustainable” without support.

A Quick Guide to UK Social Tariffs – Getting Broadband for £15 – UPDATED Nov 2023

29th August, 2022 (0 Comments)

The cost-of-living crisis is having a horrific impact on the UK and forcing many households into poverty, including those that would have previously been considered secure. But the good news is that a growing number of home broadband ISPs and mobile operators have launched a range of cheaper “social tariffs“.

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