Eir joins fellow telecommunications providers Three and Vodafone, which have also announced similar price increases for customers as a result of rising inflation.
Eir has announced that it's significantly upping its prices for its over two million customers from April of each year going forward.
It has pointed to rising inflation, as well as the continued investment in its fibre and mobile networks, as the reason for the increase.
Eir has also said that it will increase some of its broadband and landline plans by €5 a month and some SIM-only plans by €1 a month from August 1st 2022.
Here’s what we know so far.
Rate increase
Eir’s annual price increase will come into effect from April 2023 and will be based on the annual rate of inflation as set out by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in January of each year, plus an additional 3%.
So if the annual rate of inflation for 2022 as a whole is 7%, Eir will increase its prices by 10% the following April.
The news will impact residential broadband, TV, and home phone customers, mobile customers, and business customers.
However, before we even get to next April, Eir customers are going to be hit with a hike in prices.
From 1st August 2022 some customers’ broadband and landline plans will increase by €5 per month and some Eir mobile plans will increase by €1 per month.
Customers can then expect the cost of their plan to increase further each April from April 2023 onwards, as mentioned above.
Eir has said that impacted customers will be contacted by email, letter, or SMS during June 2022.
As Eir is increasing prices mid-contract, customers will be able to cancel their service without penalty until the date outlined in their email, letter, or communication.
Reason for the increase
According to Eir, the primary reason for the increase is down to rising inflation.
The company also said it has recently invested €1 billion in Ireland’s mobile and fibre networks so the increase will also go towards maintaining the networks and continuing to build for the future.
Other increases
Eir is also introducing other charges.
From January 2023, the following charges (inc. VAT) will apply:
- Receiving paper bills - €5.99 per month
- Paying by calling a call centre agent - €5.99 per call
- Late and missed payments - €18.45 penalty charge
Three and Vodafone
Eir has followed in the footsteps of fellow telecommunications providers Three and Vodafone who have both already announced increases to their charges for customers in line with the rate of inflation.
Three has said that it will increase the monthly charge on its billpay plans by 4.5% every year, starting from April. The increase will apply to new customers and those upgrading or signing new contracts.
Meanwhile, Vodafone will also increase its prices in April each year, by the CPI rate of inflation, plus 3%.
Potential price signalling
With Eir having stepped out with a similar increase to both Three and Vodafone, some consumers may be wondering whether the move is a sign of potential price signalling in the market.
Price signalling is when a provider publicly announces its future pricing intentions, offering a ‘signal’ to other providers in the market to do the same.
While the practice is illegal in the financial services sector in Ireland, there are no such rules for telecommunications companies, although the practice is more than frowned upon.
In short, the price increases announced by Three, Vodafone and Eir may very well open the gates for the likes of Sky and Virgin Media to introduce similar price increases.
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Get in touch with your questions
Do you understand Eir’s latest price increase? If you have any questions you can ask us in the comments below or reach out to us on social media. We’re on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
