Millions of Sky TV and broadband customers in the UK will pay £43 a year more from April while Sky Mobile customers face the reintroduction of £2-a-day roaming charges in the rest of Europe, after the company announced a series of inflation-busting price increases.
Sky’s Essential broadband package will increase 10% to £27.50 a month from 1 April, while the Superfast service rises 9% to £30.50 a month.
The company, which has more than 12 million UK customers, said the average TV and broadband customer will pay an additional £3.60 a month from April. However, the price of some services is rising by as much as 14%.
The announcement came on the same day official figures showed inflation rose to a 30-year-high of 5.5% in January as prices continued to surge across the board.
On Tuesday, the regulator Ofcom said 20% of UK households had struggled to pay their TV, internet and phone bills in the last year, with some having to cancel services or cut back spending on essentials such as food and clothing to make payments.
A Sky spokesperson said on Wednesday: “We know price increases are never welcome so we aim to keep prices as low as possible while still delivering the content customers love, the flexibility to choose the right package, and our leading customer service.”
The company said the exact increase customers faced would depend on their plan and whether they were in a contract. HD television will increase by £1 to £8 a month while call rates (UK landlines and UK mobiles) will rise by 2p a minute to 22p.
Sky Mobile will reintroduce roaming charges of £2 a day for its UK customers who visit the rest of Europe after 3 May. The EU ban on roaming charges between member states no longer applies to people with UK mobile phones because
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