United Kingdom: Office of Communications (Ofcom) proposed rule to ban on mid-contract telecoms price rises

On 12 December 2023, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) proposed that telecoms customers must be told up-front about any price rises included in their contract, including mid-contract price rises linked to future inflation. This follows a review of telecoms contracts where, in April 2023, Ofcom found that 4 in 10 broadband customers and over half of mobile customers were on contracts subject to inflation-linked price rises. It also found these contracts could cause substantial consumer harm by complicating price comparison, limiting consumer engagement, and reducing the consumer benefits of competition.