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Highlights:
- Several broadband providers have come up with cheaper offers to assist them during these tough times.
- Despite being pocket-friendly, they are not in high demand as many people are concerned about slow speeds.
Due to the cost-of-living crisis, millions of Brits are cutting down on their expenses, including necessities like internet connection. Several broadband providers have come up with cheaper offers to assist them during these tough times, popularly termed social tariffs. These tariffs can be availed by people receiving certain benefits. However, they aren't many takers for them.
In its latest survey, the consumer group Which? found that eligible households are not opting for social tariffs because they fear they will get slow speeds under those offers.
The survey had over 2,000 respondents who were eligible for social tariffs. Out of them, about 39% were aware of them but didn't want to avail of them. The reasons for it ranged from slow speeds and inability to get rid of the current contract to lack of information.
Image source: © Ronstik | Megapixl.com
About 63% of households said they weren't aware of such deals. Providers haven't been actively promoting these deals, and there have been more calls to advertise them.
The survey also found that popular providers, like Sky, Now and Vodafone, offered speeds of 38 megabits per second (mbps) or less on average on fixed broadband and social tariffs. The median download speed in Britain is 59mbps. Besides, only a handful of providers are offering such plans.
Let's explore some of the FTSE-listed telecom stocks in the wake of this news.
Vodafone Group plc (LON: VOD)
The British telecom firm belongs to the FTSE 100 index, with a market cap of £29,099.89 million as of 11 November. Its EPS is positive at 0.07, but the one-year and YTD returns are in the negative zone at -7.23%. The shares were 1.61% down at GBX 104.06 at 10:25 am GMT on Friday.
BT Group Plc (LON: BT.A)
BT Group Plc is another leading British telecom firm. Its market cap and EPS stood at £11,951.15 million and 0.13, respectively, as of 11 November. On a yearly basis, the share price has tumbled more than 28%. Shares of telecom services providers were down 1.91% at GBX 118.05 at 10:30 am GMT on Friday.
Bigblu Broadband Plc (LON: BBB)
The broadband services provider enjoys a market cap of £25.41 million and a positive EPS of 0.47 as of 11 November. Its share price has tumbled more than 44% in the past year. The company's share price stood at GBX 43.50 at 10:35 am GMT on Friday.
Note: The above content constitutes a very preliminary observation or view based on market trends and is of limited scope without any in-depth fundamental valuation or technical analysis. Any interest in stocks or sectors should be thoroughly evaluated taking into consideration the associated risks.
