Posted: 01st Mar, 2011 By: MarkJ

Popular ISP Be Broadband has today announced a raft of
significant price hikes for new customers. The measures, which appear to impact all of their primary broadband packages, will not affect existing customers (yet) and were very much expected after BE's parent ( O2 ) performed a similar move last month (
here).
BE Statement
We agreed that we shouldn't change prices for members already using these products. We appreciate the loyalty to BE so many of you have shown over the years, the constructive feedback you give us every day and the recommendations you make about us. Together we've got something special going on and long may it continue.
However, unlike O2 UK, BE has also
chosen not to abandon its current usage model and confirmed that they plan to retain their focus upon "
unlimited and unthrottled" broadband services. Still, with price hikes of around 20% on some packages, it could quickly become a lot more difficult for BE to add new customers.
BE Value
Download speed: up to 12meg
Upload speed: up to 1.3meg
Free Wireless modem
Unlimited usage (Fair Usage Policy)
Free 24/7 support
Free Connection
CURRENT PRICE:
£14.08/month (12 month contract)
NEW PRICE:
£17/month (12 month contract)
BE Unlimited
Download speed: up to 24meg
Upload speed: up to 1.3meg
Free Wireless modem
Unlimited usage (Fair Usage Policy)
Free 24/7 support
Free Connection
CURRENT PRICE:
£18.26/month (12 month contract)
£20.86/month (3 month contract, plus £24.51 set-up fee)
NEW PRICE:
£22/month (12 month contract)
£25/month (3 month contract, plus £25 set-up fee)
BE Pro
Download speed: up to 24meg
Upload speed: up to 2.5meg
Free Wireless modem
Unlimited usage (Fair Usage Policy)
Free 24/7 support
Free Connection
1 Static IP
CURRENT PRICE:
£22.44/month (12 month contract)
£25.04/month (3 month contract, plus £24.51 set-up fee)
NEW PRICE:
£27/month (12 month contract)
£30/month (3 month contract, plus £25 set-up fee)
The good news is that BE's new prices
will not come into force until 31st March 2011, which gives anybody who was considering Be Broadband a nice bit of breathing space. Still, such a move is unlikely to reverse the O2 groups fortunes, with their most recent results indicating a significant decline in fixed line broadband growth (
here).
However it is a fact that
being an ISP today is fast become more expensive than it used to be. On top of inflation and the VAT hike there are also pressures stemming from the impending need to clamp down on "
illegal" copyright file sharing, not to mention new data retention practices. These issues, combined with other legislation and requirements, mean that many ISPs will have to put up prices.
On top of that the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) could soon prevent ISPs from advertising "
unlimited" usage services alongside a
Fair Usage Policy (FUP), even one that is as flexible as BE's. Meanwhile BE still remains one of the better ISP choices out there, with a long history in the market and a fairly happy customer base.