CASH-strapped householders have been urged to shop around for better mobile, broadband and TV deals as several of the country’s biggest telecommunications providers get set to hike their prices next month.
Eir, Sky, Three and Vodafone will all increase the cost of their plans for the third April in a row as part of an “annual price adjustment”.
Originally the move was based on the annual rate of inflation plus an additional three per cent.
However, Eir and Vodafone have now reverted to fixed annual increases.
Vodafone’s broadband plans will increase by a flat €3.50 a month each April, while its broadband and TV plans will go up by €4.50.
Although Sky doesn’t officially implement an “annual price adjustment”, its prices will increase this April by an average of 4.5 per cent following a similar increase last year and the one before.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission says such price signalling is illegal, yet they and the Government have yet to take any action, according to consumer website Bonkers.ie.
Head of Communications Darragh Cassidy has urged householders to compare prices and switch to another provider as there is still very good competition for new customers.
He said: “This is the third April in a row that many of the main telecommunications providers will hike their prices. And it means some customers will be paying around 20 per cent to 25 per cent more for their broadband and TV than they were only three years ago.
“Although providers are increasing their prices each year for their existing customers, the deals they offer new customers have remained relatively steady in price in recent years. This means there really is a lot of money to be saved by switching. More so than ever.
“For example, someone who’s out of contract could be paying €80 a month or more for 500Mb fibre broadband. Whereas they could get it for less than half the price for a year by switching.
“And with some providers you can switch to a 24-month discounted contract, so the potential savings are even greater.
“And for mobile customers, they should consider moving to a SIM-only deal if they are out of contract. Some SIM-only plans offer pretty much unlimited calls, texts and 5G data from as little as €12.99 a month.
‘NO POINT’
“There’s no point paying €50 or €60 a month for your mobile if you’ve fully paid off your phone and are out of contract.
“The key thing is that consumers don’t have to accept these price increases year in and year out. They can beat them by switching.”
