Households worry as Sky, O2 and Virgin Media raise prices by as much as 11.7% a year

Millions of broadband and mobile customers with Sky, O2 and Virgin Media could see price hikes of up to £50 per year from April in another bill blow to households.

Those with Sky will see a substantial increase on their annual bills, with prices rising by an average of £43 for broadband and mobile, it confirmed today.

O2 also announced newly raised prices would go up to £48 per year for a pay monthly mobile customers, an 11.7 per cent increase on current airtime prices.

It comes at a worrying time for many households struggling with the rising cost of living with energy bills reaching record highs, alongside higher fuel and food prices.

Inflation has soared to 5.5 per cent, the highest rates since March 1992 which is putting pressure on household finances.

Some firms link their annual rises to the retail price index figure for January plus 3.9 per cent. This month, RPI is 7.8 per cent – far higher than the CPI measure.

Sky are one of the latest companies to announce their annual price increases, with mobile, broadband and landline customers expected to take the hit.

Prices are expected to jump up by up to £3.60 per month, depending on the packages, coming in at just under the current 5 per cent inflation rate.

Its Signature TV package will rises to £27 a month and their cinema pass to an additional £12 per month.

BT Sport it also increasing their prices by £1 a month to £28, while broadband customers face a £2.50 monthly jump to £30.50 from April.

Landline customers are also facing increases of 2p per minute to 22p from May.

A Sky spokesperson said that customers who are affected by the price increase should be expecting to hear an update before March 24, by email or post. This is Money