Telecom company Vodafone will increase prices for some of its mobile phones and some broadband customers from next month.
The increase will see some broadband customers on a plan add an extra €94 a year to their bills, reports Independent.
Not all customers are affected, but for those who pay more, the hike represents around 11% of their telecom costs.
This is part of Vodafone’s pricing policy in which it applies a 3% price hike every April plus the annual rate of inflation of the previous December.
Since the inflation in the last month of last year was 8.2%, it means that the price hike would be 11.2%.
Vodafone justified this increase on the grounds that it needed to invest in its network and services, reports Independent.
Late last year, Vodafone Ireland advised some of its customers that from November they would face a €60 annual price hike for their home broadband, TV and voice plans.
The company said that not all customers will be affected, but it is not clear how many customers in total will be affected by the price hike.
Vodafone said the November hike affected a small number of existing broadband customers.
It added that the price hike from April will affect a small number of fixed broadband customers who signed, upgraded or renewed their contracts from January 31 to February 28, 2023 this year and connected during that period, reports Independent.
Next month’s increase will add an average of €5 per month to mobile bills. This will affect around 50% of mobile phone customers.
Affected broadband customers will pay an additional 7 euros per month.
The increase will mean that the monthly subscription cost for customers on Vodafone’s Red Unlimited SIM only plan on a 12-month contract will increase by €3.92 per month, reports Independent.
Anyone with a 1GB Fiber broadband plan, which currently costs €70 a month, will need to pay an extra €7.84 a month.
The price hike won’t affect all customers, with about half of mobile customers facing higher rates and 5% of the company’s broadband customers.
Vodafone said that customers will be informed about the price hike through SMS.
The company said it is not immune to inflationary cost pressures, particularly higher energy costs.
Vodafone will invest a further €40m in network rollout and upgrades over the next three years, on top of existing spending.
A spokesperson for Vodafone Ireland said: “As per the term in our customer contract, Vodafone Ireland’s annual price adjustment is a combination of the Consumer Price Index rate measured in the year to December and an additional 3pc rate that reflects our ongoing investment in our mobile and fixed networks, products and services,” reports Independent.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.