UK Social Tariffs for Broadband and Mobile — Ofcom-Monitored Low-Income Pricing With 8.6% Uptake

Social tariffs are discounted broadband and mobile plans offered by providers to households on means-tested benefits such as Universal Credit. They are provided on a voluntary basis, with Ofcom monitoring availability and uptake in its annual pricing trends report.
According to Choose (27 February 2026) citing Ofcom, 532,000 UK households used a social tariff in June 2025, up from about 506,000 a year earlier. Ofcom estimates 4 to 8 million eligible households, so uptake is under 10% (reported as 8.6% by ISPreview). Providers offering them rose from 3 in 2020 to more than 30, and prices are typically about £12–£20 per month. BT accounts for around 64% of fixed broadband social-tariff connections, Sky 24%, Virgin Media O2 6%, Vodafone 4% and KCOM 2%. TalkTalk is the only major broadband provider without a standard social tariff.
The main documented barrier is awareness: about 70% of eligible households do not know the tariffs exist (up from 69% the year before). Choose reports that BT operates these tariffs at very low or neutral margins and that Vodafone cited Openreach wholesale charges as limiting how low prices can go; Vodafone's £12 tariff of 2022 was later raised to £20.
Cautionary lesson: wide supply by providers has not translated into take-up. The eligible-household range is wide (4–8 million), so the percentage is an estimate. Figures are taken from secondary reporting of Ofcom's report.

Read the full analysis: https://www.choose.co.uk/news/2026/social-tariff-uptake-below-10-percent-despite-wider-availability/