This is why BT customers are facing a 9% price rise as cost-of-living squeeze continues
The telecoms giant said those affected will end up paying an extra £3.50 a month – or £42 annually – on average for phone and broadband bills.
However, financially vulnerable households and those on certain packages, including BT Home Essentials and BT Basic, will be exempt.
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Hide AdThe move follows a dramatic increase in data usage over the past few years, the company said in a statement.
It comes after figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed two thirds of UK adults have seen their cost of living jump over the past month.
Some 66% of people surveyed had been hit by increases including steeper energy bills and rising food prices, according to the ONS.
Nick Lane, BT’s managing director for consumer services, said: “Price rises are never popular, but are sometimes a necessary part of business, if we’re to keep up with the rising costs we face.”
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Hide AdWorking from home, online education and increased TV streaming have increased demands on the company’s network, with a 90% rise in broadband usage since 2018, and a 79% increase on mobile phones since 2019, he said.
BT changed how it raised bills around two years ago, introducing a system of one increase a year at the end of every March.
The hike this year will be 3.9% plus inflation, as measured by the consumer price index to reflect “rising costs to the business”, according to BT.
Inflation soared to 5.4% last month, its highest rate since March 1992, as households faced surging food prices on top of sky-high energy and fuel bills.
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Hide AdExperts have warned that the cost of living will continue to climb over the next few months as gas and electricity tariffs are expected to rise by around 50% in April.
The Bank of England raised interest rates from 0.1% to 0.25% last month as it said inflation would hit 6% in the spring – and more increases are expected to rein in rising prices.