Broadband social tariffs: £10 a month if you are on benefits

Several million British households pay more than they need to for home broadband — not because they picked a bad deal, but because they do not know a different one exists. Social tariffs start at £10 a month, and you can move onto one in the middle of a contract without paying a penny to leave.

What is a broadband social tariff?

It is a separate low-cost package a provider offers to people on certain benefits. Ofcom keeps a single table of them. On that table prices currently run from £10 to £24 a month, and most of the deals are above 30 Mbit/s — proper superfast, not a throttled line.

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It is not a discount you have to plead for, and not a limited-time offer. It is a standing tariff.

Who qualifies?

Ofcom says all major providers accept people on Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseeker's Allowance and Income Support. Some providers also include Personal Independence Payment and Attendance Allowance.

One condition is easy to miss: the person receiving the benefit must be the main person on the contract. If the account is in another family member's name, the tariff will not be granted.

There are narrower offers too — BT Home Essentials No Income, for instance, is only for Universal Credit claimants with zero income. BT and KCOM also run voice-only landline tariffs.

What does it actually cost?

Some markers from the Ofcom table. EE Basics is £12 a month for up to 25 Mbit/s, UK-wide. Virgin Media Essential Broadband is £12.50 at 15 Mbit/s. Hyperoptic Fair Fibre Fast is £12 at 50 Mbit/s, and the same provider's gigabit plan is £20. Community Fibre Essential in London is £12.50 at 35 Mbit/s. Sky Superfast 35 is £20, and NOW Broadband Basics is also £20.

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Mobile is on the list as well: O2 Essential Plan and VOXI For Now at £10 each, SMARTY Social Tariff at £12, all three with 5G where available.

Ofcom warns that a provider may not cover every premises in the region it lists, so check against the actual postcode.

Will leaving your current contract early cost you?

No. Ofcom puts it plainly: if your provider offers a social tariff you can switch to it at any time free of charge, and it costs nothing to leave a social tariff before the contract ends. The price will not rise mid-contract either.

And if your current provider has no social tariff, it might let you leave without a penalty to go to one that does. Setup costs, where they exist at all, should be small, and the provider has to tell you about them before you sign.

So why does almost nobody use them?

Because people have not heard of them. Ofcom research published on 24 April 2023 put it in numbers: as of February 2023, 5.1% of eligible households were on a social tariff — 220,000 homes. And 53% of eligible households did not know the tariffs existed at all.

The same research gave an illustrative saving: £202 a year, the gap between an average £209 spent on a social tariff and £411 on a comparable commercial one.

Where do you start?

Check the Ofcom table for your current provider. If it has a social tariff, apply online or call and ask to be moved onto it. If it does not, switch to a provider that does. And if the bills are already hard to pay, Ofcom's advice is not to wait for arrears but to speak to the provider straight away.