Digital Secretary has written to UK broadband
company CEOs calling on them to take urgent action to raise
awareness of their low-cost social tariffs for people on benefits
and help keep everyday costs down for families across the
country.
The letter was sent to the bosses of BT, Virgin Media O2, KCom
and others asking them to outline their plans to promote social
tariffs and for their estimates of take-up over the coming twelve
months. The Secretary of State has been calling on all providers
who are yet to bring social tariffs to the market to come forward
and support their customers.
These companies all offer social tariff products to low-income
households, with some providers offering deals from as low as £10
per month, and these offers are available in 99 per cent of the
country. This could represent a saving of more than 50 per cent
(around £180 per year) against the average cost of
broadband.
The government has played a crucial role in pushing the market to
offer social tariffs for telecoms services which could provide a
lifeline to low-income households struggling with the global rise
in the cost of living. Landline and broadband social tariffs have
been offered by BT and KCom for several years, but since 2021
there has been a threefold rise in companies voluntarily offering
their own social tariffs after the government stepped in to
negotiate the low-cost deals.
It is easier than ever to switch to a cheaper broadband deal
thanks to regulatory changes made in 2020 which mean broadband
companies are required by law to inform their customers when they
are nearing the end of their contract and can switch without
paying a fee.
From April next year it will also be easier for customers to
switch providers under Ofcom reforms which will allow consumers
to move to a new provider using a simple, one-touch process where
the new provider will handle the entire switching and
installation process on behalf of the customer.
Digital Secretary said in a letter to the
telecoms companies:
“The government is determined to work with businesses to keep
everyday costs down for families across the country. Broadband
has transformed people's lives as we become a more digital
society and I believe it's vital we raise awareness of discount
broadband offers for low-income households.
“Support is available for 99 per cent of the country, yet Ofcom’s
recent analysis shows that only 1 to 2 per cent of households on
Universal Credit eligible for social tariff products have taken
them up.
“This means that of the almost 5,000,000 households who could be
benefiting from cheaper broadband, only around 55,000 currently
are. Less than a quarter of those eligible families were aware
the deals were available.
“It is more important than ever that we support families and ease
pressures on household finances while also closing the digital
divide. I am grateful for the work you have done on this so far
and look forward to your response on how we go further.”
***ENDS***
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In response to Covid-19, the Government and Ofcom agreed a
set of commitments with the UK’s major broadband and mobile
operators to support vulnerable consumers during the
pandemic. Providers committed to working with customers
finding it difficult to pay their bill as a result of
Covid-19 to ensure they were treated fairly and appropriately
supported. This was in addition to providing new and generous
landline and mobile offers such as free or low cost mobile
data boosts. Furthermore, a number of websites, including the
NHS and victims of crime websites were zero-rated.
