The move: when a mid-contract price rise lands, you should get at least one month’s notice. If you do not accept the change, you can usually leave without an early-termination fee in that window. Diary the date. Order the new provider — do not just stop paying.
If you are already out of contract, skip the drama and switch. Thereafter plus April is how a “from €34.99” plan becomes a €80 habit.
Eir’s €4 from April 2027
Eir is Ireland’s largest fixed broadband retailer (ComReg Q1 2026: 28% of lines) because it owns Open Eir. The commercial catch is no longer a CPI-linked fudge. From April 2027 it has said broadband will rise by a flat €4 each April.
That sits on top of an already steep thereafter. As of August 2026 the 500 Mb 12-month intro is €34.99, then typically about €75.99. The 24-month 1 Gb intro is €39.99, heading for the same thereafter. Add €4 every April from 2027 and the headline is a first-year price, not the long-term one.
A 24-month Eir gig signed in 2026 is still in term in April 2027. That is who the Contract Change Notification is for. The same Open Eir FTTH socket is often cheaper from Sky or Pure Telecom — you are comparing contracts, not a different cable in the ground. Full picture: the Eir broadband review.
Contract Change Notifications
Irish electronic-communications rules (the EU code, as implemented here) say a provider that changes price or terms during your contract must tell you. That notice is the Contract Change Notification. It is not junk mail.
- At least one month’s notice before the change takes effect.
- A penalty-free exit if the change is not exclusively to your benefit and you do not accept it. You should not owe the remaining-term early-termination fee for leaving in that window.
- The window is short. It runs from the notice toward the date the new price starts — not “whenever you get around to it in May”.
Built-in annual-increase clauses complicate this. Some providers argue you already agreed the rise when you signed. ComReg still expects clear information, and many April letters still go out as CCNs. Treat every price-change letter as a CCN until you have read it. If the wording is muddy, keep a copy and ask in writing whether leaving before the effective date is penalty-free.
Do not confuse three different price jumps. (1) The intro ending — thereafter. (2) An in-contract or April rise — the CCN. (3) Out-of-contract drift if you never switch. Only (2) reliably opens the penalty-free window. (1) is the deal you signed. (3) is inertia.
Who typically hikes
We flag an annual price-rise risk on the ranking when the retailer has used in-contract or April-style increases, or publishes a formula (Eir’s flat €4). It is a contract-fairness score, not a prediction of next March’s envelope. Always read the one-pager of costs on the order you actually place.
| Retailer | Built-in / typical hike | What we note (August 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Sky | Yes — check T&Cs | Sky has used annual price increases on broadband; always check the contract and any Contract Change Notification. |
| Vodafone | Yes — check T&Cs | Vodafone has used in-contract increases; compare the 12- vs 24-month total and the one-pager of costs. |
| Pure Telecom | No built-in hike | Pure is one of the retailers ComReg Compare flags for plans without a built-in annual increase — confirm on the order summary. |
| Virgin Media | Yes — check T&Cs | Virgin has used in-contract and April-style increases; thereafter prices jump after the intro year. |
| Digiweb | No built-in hike | Digiweb 12-month fibre intros are the ones to model; confirm whether a rise is in the order summary. |
| Eir | Yes — check T&Cs | From April 2027 Eir has said broadband will rise by a flat €4 each April (no longer CPI-linked). A Contract Change Notification can open a penalty-free exit. |
| Imagine | No built-in hike | Selected Imagine plans advertise a price freeze until December 2030 and a leave-anytime pledge — confirm which tariff you are on. |
| Three | Yes — check T&Cs | Mobile-broadband contracts can still include increases — read the 12- vs 24-month small print. |
| Starlink | No built-in hike | Residential is a rolling monthly plan. Hardware terms (kit included vs deposit) change — confirm at checkout. |
The usual hikers in that table are Eir, Sky, Vodafone, Virgin Media and Three. The commercial pattern is the same: a sharp intro, a thereafter cliff, and an extra step if you stay. Sky’s 500 Mb is often the cheapest year-one fibre in Ireland; it is not a freeze. Virgin’s 1 Gb intro is frequently €30, then typically about €72.
Plans without a built-in rise
ComReg Compare is the regulator’s tool for this. It flags plans that do not bake in an annual increase. Use it as a filter, then confirm on the order summary — retailers change tariffs faster than anyone’s table.
In our August 2026 dataset the names that are not scored as a built-in hike are:
| Retailer | Why it shows as no hike | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Pure Telecom | One of the retailers ComReg Compare flags for plans without a built-in annual increase. | Thereafter still steps up (~€10/month on the plans we track). Confirm on the order summary. |
| Imagine | Selected plans advertise a price freeze until December 2030, plus leave-anytime 5G. | The freeze is a named-tariff promise, not a personality trait. 5G still has a wrap-up charge to close the account. |
| Digiweb | The 12-month fibre intros we model are not flagged for a built-in April rise. | Thereafter still rises when the intro ends. Read the order summary. |
| Starlink | Residential is a rolling monthly plan, not a 12- or 24-month hike machine. | Hardware terms change. Dearer than NBI once fibre is actually at the pole. |
“No built-in hike” is not “the bill never changes”. Pure’s 100 Mb fibre is €30 then €40. That is still a rise — just not an automatic April letter on top. If year-two cost is why you are here, compare 24-month totals on the main ranking, not month one.
Switching calendar
For an April change, work backwards from the effective date. The CCN should arrive at least a month earlier. The new retailer manages the ComReg switch; your job is to order inside the window and not ghost the old bill.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Late February / March | Watch post and email for the Contract Change Notification. Screenshot or file it. Note the date the new price starts and any deadline to object or leave. |
| The day the CCN arrives | Read it. If you are still in a minimum term, this is probably your penalty-free exit. If you are already out of contract, it is still the prompt to switch — no ETF anyway. |
| The same week | Check what is actually at the Eircode (check by Eircode / find your broadband). Price ComReg Compare plans without a built-in increase against Sky, Vodafone and whoever else can sell that network. |
| Inside the notice window | Order the new provider. They should manage the switch so you are not left without service. Do not cancel by stopping the direct debit. If you would otherwise owe an ETF, staying inside this window is the point. |
| Before the hike date | Changeover completes. Old contract ends without the remaining-term fee if you used the CCN exit. Keep the CCN and the new order confirmation until the first new bill is clean. |
| After the hike takes effect | You have accepted the new price (or missed the window). Leaving mid-term can mean an early-termination fee. Wait for the minimum term to end, or pay the ETF — see how ETFs are calculated. |
| Every April after that | If you stayed with a hiker, expect another letter. Diary it the way you would a car tax reminder. Out-of-contract customers should already have switched. |
Full fibre, cable, 5G and satellite do not need a landline for this process — the switch is the broadband account. If you are still on Open Eir FTTC copper, read do I need a landline? before you assume the new order is a like-for-like socket.
Next: how to switch broadband (ComReg, gaining-provider led) and the best broadband in Ireland ranking, dated August 2026.
