UK's BT to raise broadband prices in April

LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Britain's biggest telecoms group BT will raise its broadband prices by an inflation-busting 5 or 6 percent in April, as well as charge more for calls and some of its TV packages.

BT customers on standard copper broadband will be charged an extra 2 pounds ($2.46) from April 2, the company said on Friday, while those on its faster Infinity product face paying an extra 2.50 pounds.

The rises are more than triple the current 1.6 percent rate of consumer inflation.

John Petter, chief executive of BT Consumer, said: "Customers will get a better package and improved service from us this year in exchange for paying a little more.

"Millions will have the chance to upgrade to faster broadband and almost a million will be able to upgrade to enjoy unlimited usage for no extra cost."

BT said its rivals Sky (Frankfurt: 893517 - news) , Virgin Media and TalkTalk had either raised prices or announced increases in the last year. It added it was freezing the price of a basic phone line.

Analysts at Bernstein said the rises were "intelligently designed", noting it was a smart to leave line rental charges unchanged after concern was voiced by regulator Ofcom in December about rising prices for elderly and vulnerable customers.

They said they expected others in the market, and especially Virgin Media, to follow BT's lead.

($1 = 0.8136 pounds) (Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Susan Thomas)