?This week, TV and broadband provider Sky has announced that anyone in receipt of Universal Credit or State Pension in the UK can access their new Broadband Basics contract helping people save up to £90 a year.
The new Broadband Basics contract costs £20 a month to customers who get Universal Credit or Pension Credit. The tariff will offer 36M/bs broadband for 18 months. This type of deal usually costs £25 a month with Sky. You don't have to be an existing customer to claim it.
The same £20 deal is available if you have Now TV, which is part of Sky, and is called Now Broadband Basics. Again, this will be available to existing customers who are claiming Universal Credit or Pension Credit.
Sherrelle Collman, Managing Director of Caridon Foundation says: “It’s good to see Sky join other providers in helping those worst affected by the cost of living crisis and whilst some may argue that broadband is not a necessity, without it claimants cannot access their Online Universal Credit account.
I think this is a key issue with making Universal Credit digitised, it assumes everyone has access to internet and in many situations that is simply not the case. The alternative is to travel to somewhere like a library or internet café and pay to access the internet.”
Caridon Foundation is also reminding clients and anyone on Universal Credit to look for other offers available to them after the communications regulator Ofcom warned millions of families are missing out on a £144 saving on their broadband bills by not taking advantage of social tariffs. Currently six broadband providers – BT, Community Fibre, G.Network, Hyperoptic, KCOM and Virgin Media O2 – offer at least one of these specially discounted deals. These packages are priced at between £10 and £20 a month for broadband speeds ranging from 10Mbit/s to 67Mbit/s.