Hyperoptic joins Telecoms Consumer Charter to give the public better transparency

The Telecoms Consumer Charter aims to build on the legal obligations imposed on all broadband providers by getting providers volunteer to be fairer and clearer with their customers, without all the extra work and cost of even more Ofcom legislation.

Hyperoptic has been announced as signing up to the charter joining BT Group, Virgin Media O2, VodafoneThree, Sky, TalkTalk, KCOM, Community Fibre and WightFibre. This collection of retailers is the lion’s share of the UK broadband retail market.

In addition to the legal requirements Ofcom impose the charter means:

• All providers commit that, where a contract includes a mid‑contract price increase, the core subscription price that customers sign up to is the price that they will pay. Any exception to this is limited strictly to unforeseeable and externally driven events that materially affect the cost of providing services.
• All providers commit to building on Ofcom’s rules and guidance, which set out the information that must be provided before the customer is bound by a contract, such as by presenting clearly and prominently a customer’s full package details in one clear place, including the headline price, contract length, key terms and any add‑ons, and by proactively highlighting and explaining any agreed changes, such as mid‑contract price increases, in a simple, easy‑to‑understand format throughout the life of the contract.

Hyperoptic is following the simple pricing information that is part of the charter in that they show the headline price, and then any increases that are due in the minimum term. In this case you start at £27/m, rising to £31/m in April 2027 and finally to £35/m in April 2028.

We reported on Sky switching back to the old way of just saying that prices may change in April 2026, and we asked what is the point of charter is providers can stay signed up but pick and choose how they present information to the public. Looking at an address Sky can provide full fibre at today you get the following which gives you no indication at all about what the price may change to or how often the price will change.

The charter is not just about the annual price rises, but those signed up commit to having social tariffs available. Hyperoptic does have its Fair Fibre Plan but we did have use a search to find it. Sky has it buried away in its Help section. As the Sky page makes no mention of price rises on its social tariff one presumes it is £20/month for the full 24 month term.

If Ofcom and Government wants to ensure higher wakeup for social tariffs then forcing providers to make it clearer that a cheaper priced option is available for those who qualify.