Regulators in Belgium and Ireland are urging consumers to use price comparison tools to shop around, highlighting the potential savings available
Consumers in Belgium could be saving over €300 per year by switching
The BIPT has released the results of its latest national telecoms pricing study, which, for its ninth iteration, analyses offers for fixed and for convergent (i.e. fixed and mobile) services available in Belgium. Without taking into account the effect of promotions, the regulator’s annual benchmarking exercise indicates that consumers could be saving more than €25 per month if they compare propositions from a range of different operators. This figure is higher than the ~€20 saving indicated in the 2022 study. As with previous versions, the regulator has leveraged a set of seven differentiated user profiles in order to paint a broad and varied picture of the market. The research complements the BIPT's recent analysis of the mobile market, which indicated that consumers could save up to €10 per month by switching away from one of the three incumbent operators.
Only 2% of consumers switch when the price of their tariff goes up
In the telecoms market, offers can change quickly and shopping around can be a challenge for the average consumer. According to the BIPT, there have been many instances of price increases by operators during the course of 2023, with some raising prices on more than one occasion. While consumers are paying more attention to the amount they spend on telecoms services, they largely remain passive when operators adjust their price plans. The regulator highlighted this inertia in its annual survey, revealing that in response to a modification of their plan, only 2% of respondents had subsequently changed operator. The BIPT recommends consumers make use of its price comparison website (Meilleurtarif.be), suggesting that combining tariffs for standalone services from various operators could be a “profitable approach”, while also highlighting the ‘Easy Switch’ procedure that can facilitate the termination of contracts.
Prices of telecoms services in Ireland are rising less than inflation
Similar pricing research has been conducted by ComReg for the period spanning Q1 2020 to Q1 2023 in Ireland. The regulator found that:
Prices are increasing below the rate of inflation; however, if trends continue, lower income households may see increases in the proportion of their budget spent on mobile, fixed voice and broadband services; and
There is a general increase in the cheapest price of landline services over time, which have recently been cheapest when purchased as part of a bundle.
ComReg’s research notes that operators may impose automatic price increases on customers already in a contract, adding that these may be avoidable if not built into the terms and conditions. Like the BIPT, ComReg urges consumers to shop around and to use its own price comparison tool in order to identify the best plan, based on their needs.
