From O2:

...
Our Home Broadband prices are changing

Internet use has changed dramatically over the last few years and this is likely to continue. We need to increase our prices so we can still give you the level of service you’d expect from us.

We’re committed to providing award-winning service, including;
• Free telephone technical support, based in the UK, available 24/7
• Winner of Which(TM) Best Technology Services provider 2010
• Fastest average broadband speeds through a telephone line as shown by OFCOM speed test results July 2010
• Discount for O2 mobile customers - £5 off monthly broadband bill
• Protection against viruses with McAfee software
From 31 March 2011 your monthly broadband cost will be £13.00. Any discount or free period you already have – like a three months free offer – will stay unchanged.
You don’t need to do anything, but if you’d like to know more about your options, or want to compare our prices to the market, go to o2.co.uk/pca
Best regards

Felix Geyr
Managing Director,
O2 Home and Broadband
...

Now, I'm assuming that's for the lightweight package I'm on, so... FYI, and I'd expect whatever provider you're with to increase their prices if they haven't already

We've not had anything like that....

I phoned my sister, but that was a waste of time...

Just the opposite with PlusNet, they've not increased prices to reflect the January VAT increase, they say they're going to absorb that cost. PlusNet tend to review prices when they launch a new product range, but people on legacy packages still pay the same and they don't force you to move packages if you're happy with the one you're on. Not sure if other ISPs do the same.

O2 tried to persuade me to change packages to make it a few quid cheaper, but that was gonna involve a cap (can't remember what it was, but you could hit it in the near future) so I didn't bother. They added 21p to my bill for the VAT...

IIRC they tried that with us. A worse deal than the one we're on so it was a no go.

True, but they don't tell you when a new package with more data for a lower price comes out. You have to spot it and ask to be moved yourself.

O2 to raise broadband prices by up to 76%

O2 is putting up its broadband prices again, just a month after increasing them in line with the rise in VAT. Existing customers are particularly hard hit.

A subscriber paying £7.66 a month after January's VAT rise will pay £9.50 after 31 March - an increase of 24 per cent.

Pay £10.21 a month now, and come April you'll be paying £18 a month - a whopping 76 per cent rise - according to one subscriber in receipt of a price hike letter.

O2 told its customers: "Internet use has changed dramatically over the last few years and this is likely to continue. We need to increase our prices so we can still give you the level of service you’d expect from us."

Notifications of the price change went out to customers this week.

"You can leave without penalty if you tell us within 30 days of receiving your price change notification letter or email," O2 told subscribers.

O2 currently offers three broadband deals to new subscribers priced at, respectively, £13.28, £17.36 and £25.52. After 31 March, they go up to £13.50, £17.50 and £26. That's an increase of between 0.8 and 1.8 per cent - rather less than existing subscribers are being forced to cough up. ®

http://www.reghardware.com/2011/02/11/o ... rice_hike/

I could have sworn my price increase took me up to £13.xx from £10.21 , I sure as fcuk won't be paying any more than that...

I'll add this here...

Home workers warned to wait for BT fibre

A broadband expert has warned home workers not to rush into getting BT’s Infinity broadband as soon as it becomes available if they rely on their connection for business-critical applications.

BT is rolling out its 40Mbits/sec fibre-to-the-cabinet service to exchanges and street-level equipment around the country.

Although it offers promising bandwidth, teething problems could cause headaches for anyone looking for a solid VPN connection or tranferring very large files.

“There are a few problems with the rollout and that might be because it’s a new technology,” said Andrew Ferguson, network expert at internet watcher Thinkbroadband.com. “The engineers might have been on training courses, but that’s not the same as doing it live and they are inevitably making mistakes.

“People that rely on the service shouldn’t go for an upgrade straight away, because there could be bugs to be sorted out in the exchange for the first few weeks, with the engineers having to turn the system on and off.”

A spokesperson for BT confirmed that stability could be an issue in the initial days after an exchange had been enabled for fibre.

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/broadband/3 ... r-bt-fibre

We just had a letter about this raise.

Still a good deal IMO so long as they don't make a habit out of it.

I'm hoping I don't get a letter as the company seems a bit befuddled by my account somehow