O2 says new price hike for mobile customers is | Tech News

If you might be an O2 mobile buyer with a month-to-month plan, your annual mid-contract price rises are going up. The mobile supplier has confirmed a new fixed annual price rise of £2.50 applies to new and present Pay Monthly customers, up from the outdated charge of £1.80. The modifications have been carried out on October 23.

Every April, anybody with a Pay Monthly contract with O2, whether or not as half of paying off a smartphone plan or a SIM solely plan, will see a £2.50 increase of their month-to-month invoice. This applies to each Pay Monthly package deal, no matter the initial price.

The increase comes after latest modifications to mobile billing enforced by UK regulator Ofcom. From January 2025, all mobile suppliers have been required to state upfront in clear kilos and pence the quantities contract costs will rise every year. Previously, rises have been unpredictable as they have been linked to inflation, and rising annual fees weren’t as clearly expressed to the client.

Inflation primarily based price rises at the moment are banned, however that doesn’t imply annual price hikes are cheaper than earlier than.

“With demand for mobile data at an all-time high, we’re introducing a 70p per month increase to annual price rises for O2 customers, effective each April,” an O2 spokesperson instructed Express.co.uk.

“An annual rise of £2.50 a month – around 8p a day – continues to represent excellent value for services that customers are using more than ever before. We’ve again frozen prices on handset repayment plans and are investing £700m into our mobile network this year to ensure we meet growing demand and give our customers the fast and reliable connectivity they rely on.”

O2 shall be offering present customers the possibility to go away their contract with out a penalty charge after informing them of the price rise.

“From April 2026, the monthly price of your mobile plan will be increasing. We’re letting you know now so you can plan ahead and be prepared,” O2 mentioned on its web site.

“Each April, your airtime plan will increase by £2.50 for voice plans and 75p for data-only and smartwatch plans.

“We understand price rises are never ideal and want to reassure you this will only affect your airtime plan, with the cost of your device remaining frozen.”

For instance, in case your airtime plan is presently £30 and your gadget reimbursement plan is £25, your present month-to-month invoice can be £55. After the April 2026 increase, your airtime plan will rise to £32.50 whereas your gadget reimbursement stays at £25, along with your new month-to-month invoice price being £57.50.

As a comparability, rival EE will increase mobile SIM solely plans from March 31, 2026 by the identical £2.50 for any contracts taken out after July 31, 2025. Plans taken out from April 10, 2024 to July 30, 2025 will see a £1.50 increase.

But anybody with a handset plan taken out after September 10, 2024, will see a £4 increase, with these taken out from April 10 to September 9, 2024 will go up by £1.50. A full checklist of EE price rises might be discovered right here.