Virgin Media has changed the way its customers will see mid-term price hikes. New and renewed contracts will now include a fixed £4 increase every April. At the same time, the provider is refreshing its bundles by including Netflix Standard with Ads in every TV package and on broadband-only tiers from M500 upwards at no extra cost.
The new rise won’t affect current contracts, but anyone signing up to the latest deals will see their bills move up each April from 2026.
Why broadband contracts changed in 2025
Until January 2025, most providers linked their in-contract rises to inflation, adding a few percentage points on top. That system often left customers facing unexpected hikes.
Ofcom has now banned those models for new contracts. Providers must set out, in pounds and pence, exactly how much a customer’s bill will increase and when. This makes the changes clearer, though it doesn’t mean prices are falling. For Virgin Media, the step from £3.50 to £4 per month simply matches BT, EE, and Plusnet’s policy.
Who is affected and when
The £4 rise only applies to new Virgin Media packages or renewals on the latest terms. Existing customers won’t see a change until their current contract is over.
The increase is applied each April, so anyone joining now won’t see it until April 2026. O2 mobile customers, part of the same parent company, are not included in this announcement and currently face smaller uplifts.
How other providers handle price rises
Virgin Media isn’t the only one moving to fixed annual hikes. Here’s what the bigger providers are doing in 2025:
- BT, EE and Plusnet: £4 each April on new contracts.
- TalkTalk: £3 per year on newer plans, older contracts still use CPI plus 3.7%.
- NOW Broadband: £3 per year from July 2025.
- Sky: sticks with percentage-based increases, averaging 6.2% in April 2025.
- Vodafone: older customers faced inflation-based hikes, while new contracts are on fixed rises.
This shows a clear divide. Most providers have moved to £3–£4 fixed amounts, while Sky is still using percentages.
| Provider | 2025 in-contract rise (new contracts) |
|---|---|
| Virgin Media | £4 increase every April on latest packages |
| BT | £4 increase each April |
| EE | £4 increase each April |
| Plusnet | £4 increase each April |
| Sky | Percentage-based rise announced in spring (avg 6.2% in 2025) |
| NOW Broadband | £3 per year (applied from mid-year billing) |
| TalkTalk | £3 per year on newer contracts; older contracts may still be CPI+3.7% until renewal |
| Vodafone | Newer contracts use a fixed pounds-and-pence rise (plan-specific); older contracts saw inflation-linked rises in April 2025 |
| Zen Internet | No mid-term increase during the minimum term |
| Utility Warehouse | No mid-term increase during the minimum term (on fixed-price broadband) |
| YouFibre | No in-term increase on fixed-price plans |
| Hyperoptic | £3 increase each April for contracts started on/after 3 Jun 2025; earlier fixed-price contracts remain fixed until renewal |
| Community Fibre | No new annual rise for 2025 cohorts; terms vary by sign-up date |
Providers with no mid-term increases
Not every broadband provider raises prices during the minimum term. A few keep things fixed:
- Zen Internet and Utility Warehouse: no mid-contract rises at all.
- YouFibre: fixed-price plans with no in-term changes.
- Hyperoptic: since June 2025, new contracts see a £3 annual rise, but older ones stay fixed until renewal.
- Community Fibre: £2 per year increases will start from April 2026 on new or renewed deals.
These policies stand out, but availability is usually limited to the regions where these providers have built their full fibre networks.
Annual rise vs mid-contract rise — what’s the difference?
An annual rise is the fixed amount disclosed at the start of a contract, applied once a year on a set month. Ofcom now requires this to be shown upfront in pounds and pence.
A mid-contract rise is when that increase actually takes effect during your minimum term. Older contracts signed before 2025 often used “CPI plus X%”, meaning the exact amount was unknown until inflation data was published. New rules prevent that for new sign-ups.
Are full fibre deals becoming more expensive?
It looks like broadband is rising in price, but the picture is more complicated. Ofcom’s data for 2024 showed that the average real-terms price of broadband and phone bundles actually fell, with the sharpest drops in ultrafast full fibre plans.
Research by uSwitch also found that the average monthly bill fell to around £26 in January 2025, down from roughly £31 a year earlier. More competition and switching deals are driving those savings.
So while annual rises make headlines, households are often paying less if they shop around.
How the UK broadband compares internationally
On an international level, the UK is neither among the cheapest nor the most expensive. Cable.co.uk’s latest comparison put the UK around 96th cheapest out of more than 200 countries. Western Europe is generally pricier than Eastern Europe, though the UK remains cheaper than many non-European markets.
Ofcom also intends to keep faster broadband products deregulated through 2031. That’s designed to encourage more competition and rollout, which can help keep prices under pressure.
Extras that add value
Adding Netflix to every TV deal and higher broadband tiers is Virgin Media’s way of keeping up with what other providers are doing. Major providers are adding extras—streaming subscriptions, Wi-Fi guarantees, or mobile data boosts—to make their packages look more worthwhile despite annual hikes.
For some households, those add-ons can outweigh the cost of the annual increase, especially if they already pay separately for the services. Smaller fibre operators such as Community Fibre and YouFibre usually compete more on speeds and lower monthly bills, offering less in the way of extras.
What to check before signing a new deal
When comparing broadband in 2025, customers should look at three things:
- The exact amount of the annual increase and the month it applies.
- Which extras are included, such as Netflix or Wi-Fi guarantees.
- Whether the provider promises no in-contract rises.
These details must now be listed clearly at sign-up, which makes comparison simpler. The challenge is weighing a fixed increase and extras against a cheaper plan from a smaller provider.
Final thoughts
Virgin Media’s move to £4 annual increases brings it in line with its biggest rivals. While any rise will be unwelcome for households, the clear pounds-and-pence model avoids the surprises of past inflation-based uplifts. The inclusion of Netflix in more bundles adds some extra value for those who would otherwise pay separately.
UK broadband remains mid-priced internationally, but competition between big providers and alternative networks continues to deliver better deals. For customers, the best approach is to understand how the annual rise works, check the extras on offer, and compare widely before signing a new deal.
