Renewal inflation tracker

Maintained by Ivan Elias, Founder & Principal Advisor · Baseline observed 2026-09 · updated as prices change

Telecom vendors raise list prices between your contract terms — and renewal quotes are anchored to the new list, not the rate you signed. This tracker keeps the public record: dated observations of entry-tier list prices across the major platforms, so increases are visible instead of absorbed. The headline figures are also published as numbered, citable statistics.

Why renewal inflation happens

Two mechanics, working together. First, list-price drift: published rates rise 3–8% most years, and contracts that renew at "then-current rates" absorb every increase. Second, the promotional revert: a year-one rate of $20 reverting to a $30 standard rate is a 50% increase that never appears as a line item — it was priced in from the start. Both are defensible in negotiation; both are invisible without a record.

Baseline observations — 2026-09

The tracker starts here: entry-tier published list rates observed in September 2026. Future entries append as vendors publish changes.

Defending your renewal against it

• Flat pricing or a capped escalator, in writing — "increases capped at the lesser of 3% or CPI" is a standard, accepted ask. The full sequence is in the negotiation playbook.
• Competing quotes before the notice window closes — the renewal playbook runs the 120-day countdown.
• Watch the revert, not the raise — if you signed a promotional first term, your renewal quote versus your year-one rate will look like inflation even when list is flat. Compare against list, not promo.