ONE of the country’s fastest growing tech-firms will freeze prices to its clients for the next 12 months – as pressure mounts on the sector’s biggest providers to follow suit.

The Connectus Group, an IT Managed Service provider, said it had made the decision because it was “more important than ever” to support small businesses.

The move comes as the UK Government prepares to meet with bosses from the major mobile and broadband providers at Downing Street next week.

According to newspaper reports, CEOs from BT, Vodafone, Virgin Media/O2 (VMO2), Three UK, TalkTalk and Sky Broadband are all expected to attend the next Monday’s summit.

Explaining the reasons behind the decision his company had taken, the CEO of the Connectus Group, Roy Shelton, said: “Following two years of price freezes to support current clients through the pandemic, we have now extended our offer for a further 12 months. This is designed to help with the spiraling levels of inflation, which are now at a 40 year high, and the increased energy and supply chain costs which are hurting many companies.”

Mr Shelton, whose company has offices in Doncaster, Salford, Corsham, Egham, Daresbury and Dublin, added: “Our whole mantra of mitigating cost, complexity and risk for our clients has never been as important as it is now.”

The announcement comes as small firms and sole traders recovering from the pandemic face growing pressure from rising costs. The price of goods and materials they need to do business on a daily basis has soared to record highs.

Last week Martin McTague, the national chair of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) urged the Government to act to “stem the tide” of businesses going to the wall.

“Policymakers should act now to address rising consumer inflation at root, by taking pressure off the small firms that are doing all they can to absorb higher input, labour and energy costs, but can only absorb so much”, he said.

“As margins are eroded, leaving less and less for firms to invest in upskilling and innovation amid labour shortages and net zero targets, the Government must use the tools at its disposal to help stem the tide.”

“On energy, policymakers should extend the help that’s been issued to households through the council tax system to micro businesses through the rates system.”

According to a Daily Telegraph report senior telecoms executives have been summoned to Downing Street to discuss the cost of living crisis after leaving millions of households facing rises for broadband services.

The meeting will be hosted by the Culture Secretary who will ask industry leaders for suggestions on how to help struggling customers with rising bills.

Senior figures from BT, Vodafone, Virgin Media O2, Three, TalkTalk, Sky and others have been invited to the discussion at No 10, according to reports.

Ms Dorries wrote to broadband providers in April, urging them to get a larger number of low-income families on to so-called social tariffs.

While an estimated five million households in receipt of benefits are eligible to receive these cut-price deals, only 55,000 have taken them up, she said.

A DCMS spokesperson said: “We are looking at bringing together the UK’s telecoms leaders to explore how the industry can work together with the government to support consumers through the global rise in the cost of living.”