O2 has announced it is increasing its mid-contract price rises next year.
At the moment, customers see their phone bill go up by £1.80 a month each year – but from 1 April 2026, they will rise by £2.50 a month.
In a page on its website, the network provider says: “From April 2026, the monthly price of your mobile plan will be increasing. We’re letting you know now so you can plan ahead and be prepared.
“Each April, your airtime plan will increase by £2.50 for voice plans and 75p for data-only and smartwatch plans.
“We understand price rises are never ideal and want to reassure you this will only affect your airtime plan, with the cost of your device remaining frozen.”
The change will apply to new and existing customers.
Uswitch mobiles expert Ernest Doku says the change adds a “huge increase proportionally” for customers on cheaper deals.
“This move puts O2’s mid-contract price rise at the higher end of the scale of mobile providers’ increases to date. With different networks taking changing approaches to price increases, it’s never been more important to compare deals available to you to make sure you’re getting the best deal,” he said.
“Since the increase applies to new and existing users, O2 customers don’t have to put up with this increase and can leave their contracts penalty-free.”
An O2 spokesperson said: “With demand for mobile data at an all-time high, we’re introducing a 70p per month increase to annual price rises for O2 customers, effective each April.
“An annual rise of £2.50 a month – around 8p a day – continues to represent excellent value for services that customers are using more than ever before. We’ve again frozen prices on handset repayment plans and are investing £700m into our mobile network this year to ensure we meet growing demand and give our customers the fast and reliable connectivity they rely on.
“Customers on our social tariffs continue to be exempt from any price changes as part of our efforts to provide support to those who need it most.”