BT forced to cut landline-only bills by £5 a month

More than two million people are set to benefit from a £5 cut in their telephone bills after intervention from the industry regulator, Ofcom.

Following a review of the market, the watchdog revealed it plans to force BT to cut the line rental charge for landline-only customers, effectively capping their charges at £13.99 per month.

It said these customers, "who tend to be elderly people who have been with BT for decades, were getting 'poor value for money'", says The Guardian.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Ofcom found line rental charges have risen by 25 to 49 per cent in recent years, while wholesale costs have fallen 26 per cent.

Those inflation-busting rises are not confined to BT, but the regulator hopes the cap will have a ripple effect as BT controls about two-thirds of the landline-only market and many providers benchmark charge against it.

Ofcom is also proposing other measures, such as asking BT to contact landline-only customers to "help them better understand that other packages might offer better value for money".

BT said it takes its responsibilities in this area "very seriously" and that "unlike other companies, we have… special tariffs for socially excluded or vulnerable customers, including BT Basic".

That tariff is tailored for customers on certain state benefits and costs £5.10 a month, including £1.50 worth of calls.