So, big bad telecom companies will raise prices:
So, a simple question. Who is it that is racheting upward inflation? Is it multinational corporations, such as these, or nurses, teachers and railway workers?
Is the answer not obvious?
And what is the government doing with this base of monopoly power? It is asking very nicely that they may not raise their prices that much, knowing full well that they will be ignored.
The actual report Spud pulled from:
Government figures on Wednesday will show that inflation eased to around 10.2% in January, although it will remain at the highest rate in four decades.
Some telecom providers also use the Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation, which is usually higher. Many companies are set to raise prices above inflation, with some adding up to 3.9 percentage points above the official rate.
BT and Vodafone added 3.9 percentage points to the December CPI rate. Virgin Media is pushing through an average 13.8% increase, although customers will have a month to decide whether they want to leave.
This week O2 will reveal the scale of price rises, based on January’s RPI plus 3.9 percentage points. Given RPI was 13.4% in December, a typical customer could face a 17%-plus annual increase. The company said the actual increase would be closer to 9-10% as it applies only to calls and data, not the significant cost of paying for the handset part of the bill.
The deal says RPI is probably a bit plus. So, that company is using, contract terms.
But perhaps the RPI is using the wrong inflation rate?
Retail trade union Usdaw has again called on the government to take immediate action to tackle the crisis in living standards, as inflation continues to rise and rising prices devalue wages. The retail price index rate of inflation rose to 12.3% today and the consumer price index reached 10.1%. Usdaw argues that the RPI is a more accurate measure of inflation, particularly as it includes housing costs.
Uh, maybe not then. As far as I know Spud has no consultancy contract with Usdaw. If he had no doubts, he would soon fix them.