The good news for Sky Mobile customers is that anyone still within the minimum term of their contract will be able to leave for free. Under Ofcom rules, customers have 30 days from being notified of a price increase to leave without having to pay an early termination fee.
A Sky Mobile spokesperson said: "We don’t take decisions like this lightly, which is why we have not increased mobile prices mid-contract for more than seven years. This change reflects the ongoing cost pressures being faced across the industry, while allowing us to continue investing in our network and customer experience."
Which Sky Mobile prices are going up?
A Sky Mobile spokesperson said "most Sky Mobile customers will see a £1.50 increase to their monthly bill from February", which equates to £18 a year. Around 1.9% will see a higher rise of £3 a month, while 8% of customers face a smaller £1 a month increase.
Some customers will not be affected at all. If your current deal started after 6th November 2025, you are already paying the new, higher prices. This applies to those who upgraded or changed their plan, not just new joiners.
Social tariffs are not going up, and have in fact never been increased by Sky Mobile since they were first introduced. Sky has also confirmed that an undisclosed list of data tariffs will not increase in price.
Why do mobile bills go up during a contract?
The simple answer is that providers introduce surprise price hikes for in-contract customers because they can. You might think that once a contract is signed, the agreed monthly payment is fixed, but that is not the case. Under current Ofcom rules, providers can raise mobile or broadband prices at any point, with many including in customer contracts when they will change and by how much. The only positive for consumers is that if it is not in your contract that the price will go up and it does, or it goes up by more than was promised, you can exit your plan without paying an early termination fee.
New 'pounds and pence' restrictions launched by Ofcom in January last year were reported by some as a ban on surprise price hikes. In reality, the new rules only prevented phone and broadband providers from including inflation-linked price rises in customer contracts. Instead, providers had to list any planned increases in 'pounds and pence'.
The 'pounds and pence' system was seen by many as a win for consumers, but it did not ban in-contract hikes or surprise increases. It also left some customers paying significantly more than they would have under an inflation-linked calculation, as a flat increase can work out to be far greater than an inflation-linked one.
What's more, the rules still allow providers to hike prices beyond what customers agreed to when they signed up, as O2 did in November last year.
Ofcom could decide to make surprise price hikes impossible, rather than continue the tweaking of recent years. Until that point, consumers will have to be wary that their bills could go up at any point, by any amount, no matter what their contract states.
Should you leave Sky Mobile?
While it may be tempting to eschew Sky in favour of a provider that is more clear on how prices will increase during your deal, it is important to remember that providers do not have to stick to the level detailed in your contract. Last year, O2 announced it would raise sim-only bills by £2.50, higher than the £1.80 it had previously committed to. The government requested that Ofcom reevaluate its regulations and labelled the hike as "against the spirit" of the rules, but at the time of writing nothing has been done to prevent this happening again.
This means that while you may be tempted to sign up with O2, Vodafone or any other firm that lists an annual price increase in customer contracts, you could be faced with a surprise price hike anyway. The best strategy to save money on your mobile phone bill is to compare mobile deals, find the best price – on a network that serves your local area well, according to Ofcom's mobile coverage checker – and switch. If the best price is still with Sky Mobile despite the hike, you could simply stay put.
How to switch to a cheaper deal
As part of Ofcom’s rules on in-contract price hikes, Sky Mobile must let you cancel your contract penalty-free within 30 days of being notified of the price increase. As most customers were notified on 6th January 2026, they will have until 5th February to switch.
It is easy to compare the different sim-only options available and switch to a new provider. You may even end up paying less than you were prior to the price hike, as Sky Mobile rarely features among the cheapest providers.
Sky Mobile is a 'piggyback' provider that uses the O2 network, so you can switch providers and stay on the same network if you are happy with it. For example, you could switch to Giffgaff, Tesco Mobile or O2 itself and there should not be any noticeable difference to your signal.
If you want to stay with Sky, you could use the fact you are free to leave your contract without paying an early termination fee as leverage to get a better deal. Sky are well known for having one set of headline prices and another set for anyone threatening to leave. A calm and polite chat with customer services over the phone could see you paying less without the hassle of switching. The tips in our article 'How to haggle to get a better broadband deal' are a great place to start.
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