Communications Affordability Tracker

Ofcom regularly monitors people’s experience of communications services. This summary sets out the findings from our latest research into the affordability of home broadband, mobile phone, landline and pay TV services.

One in three UK households had difficulty affording communications services in April 2024

In total, we estimate that around 9.3 million UK households (+/- 800,000) continue to find it difficult to afford communications service(s).

As seen in previous waves of the survey, the most financially vulnerable*, those in receipt of benefits, and those in households with a resident with an impacting/limiting condition continue to be among those most likely to have difficulty affording communications services.

Households continue to make changes to their communications services and reduce spend elsewhere so that they can afford them

Fifteen percent of households said they made changes to a communication service (e.g. switched package or tariff)  while 14% are reducing spend elsewhere to afford communications services, such as on food or clothes. This has remained in line with January 2024. Similarly, households that have cancelled a communication service in the last month (11%), missed a payment (5%) and made changes to a payment method (4%), remains consistent with the previous wave in January 2024. All five affordability issues have remained broadly unchanged since April 2023.

Just under one-in-ten households were struggling to afford their mobile or broadband service

In April 2024, households taking pay-TV and/or SVoD were the most likely to say they struggled to afford these services (14%). Eight per cent of households with a fixed broadband found it difficult to afford their service, this equates to around 1.9 million (± 500,000) UK households and 9% of those with a mobile phone, which equates to around 2.6 million (± 500,000) UK households, found it difficult to afford their service in the previous month. Five per cent of households with a landline found it difficult to afford their service.

* Financial Vulnerability combines household income, working status and the size of the household and creates three distinct groups based on expected financial vulnerability. The Most Financially Vulnerable group are those who have a low household income relative to household size. For example, any household with an overall income under £10,400 or a household with at least 6 inhabitants and an overall income of £36,400 - £51,999 would both fall into this category. Please note that not all those taking part in the survey answer the household income question. In April 2024, 32% either didn’t know or refused to answer the household income question.  

Communications affordability tracker - technical annex

Communications affordability tracker - technical annex (October 2023) (PDF, 253.1 KB)

Download the data

The data used in these charts is available to download via our statistical release calendars.

Data from previous research