Take-up of discounted broadband for people on benefits remains below 1 in 10 eligible households, Ofcom's 2026 pricing report found — even as more providers than ever offer one.
Ofcom's latest Pricing Trends report puts social tariff take-up at 532,000 households out of an estimated 4–8 million eligible — still under 10%. The regulator's own figure for the reason is blunt: roughly seven in ten eligible households say they have never heard that a cheaper tariff exists for them.
The supply side has improved: broadband social tariffs have grown from three providers in 2020 to more than 30 by the end of 2025, and most major providers now offer one. The gap is now almost entirely about awareness, not availability.
Check who qualifies and how to switch on our Get help page — it takes a few minutes and does not require waiting for a current contract to end.
Vodafone withdrew its £12/month Essentials tariff, raising its entry price to £20. Virgin Media's Essential Broadband at £12.50 is now the lowest verified social tariff on the market — a reminder that these deals and their prices shift, so it's worth checking before you apply.
The government-backed Shared Rural Network has switched on its 140th mobile mast, with 49 now live in Scotland — including a second site on Islay that restores signal from all four networks to an area that previously had none.
The government-backed Shared Rural Network switched on its 50th mobile mast in Scotland on the remote Ardnamurchan peninsula, extending all-four-operator 4G coverage across more than 1,900 square kilometres of rural Scotland — an area larger than Edinburgh and Glasgow combined.
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