Virgin Media and O2 customers face mobile and broadband shake-up that's 'hard to justify'

Virgin Media and O2 customers have been warned to brace for a mobile and broadband change that's "hard to justify". The two companies have confirmed incoming bill rises will add £3.50 to most broadband bills and £1.80 for mobile.

Virgin Media broadband customers will see bills rise by £3.50 a month from April 2025, with the prices applying to deals from January 2025. O2 mobile phone customers will see airtime bills rise by £1.80 from the same point, it has emerged.

And mobile broadband and smart watch customers will pay an extra 75p. A Virgin Media O2 spokesperson defended the price increases by saying they were clear to understand and good value for money.

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The spokesperson said: "From January, we'll change how we communicate and implement price increases. All future price changes will be included in customers' contracts in pounds and pence, giving them even more certainty about how their bills may change over the course of their contract.

"At less than the cost of a takeaway coffee or a sandwich, this represents excellent value for connectivity that our customers are using more than ever before, at the same time as we invest more than £5million a day in our networks and services to give our customers the fast and reliable connectivity they increasingly rely on." But Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at Uswitch, said: "Virgin Media O2 has just announced the steepest broadband price rises we've seen of all providers so far - £3.50 for all broadband customers and £1.80 a month for mobile customers.

"While Virgin Media O2 references investment and growing demand for data as reasons behind its price rises, with inflation falling significantly since last April, this decision still seems hard to justify. These new increases suggest Virgin Media O2 is taking the Ofcom rule change as an opportunity to make price rises higher than they otherwise would have been from 2025.

"The new flat-rate increases mean that from January 2025, new or re-contracting Virgin Media customers taking a cheaper broadband package at £25 a month would see a price increase of 14 per cent each year. Customers on a mobile deal at £15 a month would see an increase of 12 per cent annually."