Eir, Three, Vodafone and Sky are hitting customers with price increases from today

Telecoms giant Eir, satellite broadcaster Sky, mobile phone service provider Three, and telecoms provider Vodafone are all pushing up their prices.

The State’s largest telecoms provider, Eir, is to hit its residential customers with an 8pc rise. Some business customers face a 10pc price hike.

The provider has moved to a controversial system of automatic 3pc plus inflation rises every April.

As the annual consumer price index rate in January was 8.2pc, this should have meant an increase of 11.2pc. But Eir has capped this year’s increase at 8pc of the standard monthly price of services, excluding any discounts for residential customers.

It said it capped the price rise “in light of ongoing cost-of-­living considerations for households and businesses”.

The hikes mean a mobile plan with a monthly price of €29.99 will increase by €2.40 to €32.39.

A broadband plan with a monthly price of €65.99 goes up by €5.21 to €71.20. If a broadband plan with a monthly price of €65.99 is discounted to €34.99 for 12 months, the increase will apply on the monthly price before discounts.

The increases do not apply to all Eir customers. Those locked into a “price-for-life” deal, GoMo mobile, pre-pay mobile and Open Eir customers are not included.

Customers who joined or re-contracted on or after February 23 this year will not be subject to the annual price increase until April next year.

Customers who joined before February 23, and customers who received a price increase notification last year, will receive an increase on their monthly price plan, excluding any discounts, from this month.​

Sky Ireland said its average bill will increase by 5.1pc, or €4.51 a month, from this month. This works out at €54 a year in higher charges.

The company said it has not had a price increase on its TV service since 2021 and on broadband since 2018.

Depending on a customer’s package, the increases will be capped at €7 or 7pc, whichever is more favourable to the customer.

From today Vodafone is increasing prices by 11.2pc for some customers.

Affected mobile bill pay customers will see an average increase of around €5 a month, and broadband customers will see an average increase of around €7 a month. The increases apply to mobile bill pay customers with contracts since July 30, 2021, and fixed broadband customers with contracts since the end of January this year, including customers who renewed a contract from those dates.

Three Ireland is imposing an annual price increase for “all new and upgrading customers across all plans”.

This annual price increase, from today, will be based on the annual rate of inflation, plus 3pc.

The increase of 11.2pc is applicable to customers who have joined or upgraded between January 20 and the end of February this year.

Customers on 3 Bill Pay 100 will face monthly increases of €3.92, and €5.04 a month on the 3 Bill Pay 300.

Three said those being hit with increases this year reflect less than 1pc of its customer base.

The inflation-plus 3pc rise will be delayed until next year for customers who join or upgrade between March 1 this year to next February 28.

Eoin Clarke, commercial director at price comparison site Switcher.ie, said: “Fuelled by inflation and global headwinds, Irish consumers are being hit left, right and centre by soaring costs.”

He said the good news is that competition is fierce between providers, so introductory discounts are often there for the taking.