Historical context: Ofcom announcement, 12 September 2026. Sources checked 17 October 2026.
An average price gap is a reason to open your bill. It is not a promise that changing broadband provider will put the same amount back in your pocket.
In its 12 September update, Ofcom highlighted an average monthly charge of £78 for out-of-contract customers buying broadband, landline and pay TV together, compared with £69 for customers in contract. The figures came from its Pricing Trends 2025 report, published in February 2026. Multiplying that £9 difference by 12 gives £108. It is a comparison between groups of customers, not a personalised quote or proof that switching caused a £108 saving. Source: Ofcom’s switching announcement.
There is another useful distinction in the same release. The precise supporting figure is 3,431,195 people who had started the One Touch Switch process by 3 September 2026. A process-start count should not be relabelled as independently verified completed switches.
Compare the same basket over the same period
A broadband offer can look cheaper because it leaves something out. Before calculating a difference, write down the services your household actually wants to keep: broadband, a landline, particular TV access, equipment and any linked discounts.
Then make two columns covering an identical period, such as the next 12 months. Put the monthly charges in each column, including any scheduled changes that appear in the contract. Add one-off fees and any cost of replacing a bundled service. Keep uncertain amounts visibly blank rather than entering zero.
Here is an invented example to show the arithmetic, not an available deal. Keeping a package at £40 a month costs £480 over 12 months. A replacement at £32 a month plus a £30 setup charge costs £414. If a wanted service previously included in the bundle must also be bought for £5 a month, the replacement total becomes £474. The apparent £96 difference has become £6, before any other charges. Different inputs produce different answers.
A small difference can still leave a large commitment
That 12-month comparison does not tell the whole story if the replacement starts a 24-month minimum term. Record the full commitment separately. Ask whether the installation date, equipment and support arrangements suit your home, and confirm address-specific availability directly with the prospective provider.
Use our broadband switching checklist to gather contract dates and organise the questions about cancellation, activation and equipment returns before comparing offers.
Those guides may contain disclosed affiliate links. Their presence does not establish that a provider is cheaper or suitable for your address.
The useful conclusion from September’s figures is modest: check whether your existing arrangement still makes sense. Staying, renegotiating and switching are separate options. Compare them using your own paperwork, rather than treating a national average as money already saved.