Mobile and broadband operators across the UK are poised to hike their prices for millions of customers in 2026. The majority of customers with a mobile phone or internet plan typically see the monthly price of their contract rise each March or April annually.
These mid-contract price rises, as they’re commonly known, are regularly implemented by all major mobile operators, including O2, EE, and Virgin. When signing up for a contract, these price hikes should be clearly outlined in the terms and conditions presented to you.
In today’s market, your mid-contract increase will usually be a fixed price in pounds and pence, which should be transparently communicated to you. In fact, a policy change from Ofcom in January this year now requires phone operators to refrain from using inflation-linked price rises in any new contracts.
O2
O2 has confirmed this month that customers will see an annual price increase on their Pay Monthly plans. Customers can expect to see their bills rise by £2.50 every April, compared to the previous £1.80.
An O2 spokesperson said: “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 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. Customers on our social tariffs continue to be exempt from any price changes as part of our efforts to provide support to those who need it most.”
The new increase will apply to both new and existing customers. Full details on O2’s price rises can be found here.
Full details on O2’s price rises can be found here.
Virgin
Previously, Virgin Media introduced a significant fixed price increase for broadband-only customers, with deals going up by £3.50 per month annually. However, Virgin Media is now increasing it further to £4 per month each year.
This increase will be applied for deals that include broadband or broadband and TV. This will apply to customers who joined or recontracted after October 2. However, customers who remain on their contract prior to October 2 will stay on the terms they’re already on.
A Virgin Media spokesperson said: “Customers taking one of our latest packages, which offer fantastic value including Netflix as standard on all TV bundles and Sky Sports in HD at no extra cost, will see their prices rise by £4 a month each April. No prices are changing now and no changes are being made to existing customer contracts.
“This 13p a day rise represents excellent value for connectivity customers use more than ever and is greatly outweighed by the £5m we invest every single day into our networks and services to ensure we continue to provide the fast, reliable connectivity our customers expect and rely on.”
EE
Both new and existing EE customers will be hit with fixed price increases from 31 March, 2026. The price hike will vary depending on when you took out your contract.
For instance, Mobile SIM Only plans and airtime plan customers who signed a contract between 10 April, 2024 to 30 July, 2025 will face an increase of £1.50, while those who signed a contract from 31 July, 2025 will see a rise of £2.50.
In the meantime, customers who signed a handset plan between 10 April and 9 September, 2024, will face an increase of £1.50, while those who signed a plan from 10 September, 2024, will see a rise of £4.
Full details of EE’s price increases in 2026 can be found here.
