BT broadband deals
BT Deals
BT has a range of different broadband deals. Use our tool to see what is available to you:
Who is BT?
British Telecom is the UK’s largest internet service provider, supplying connectivity to residential homes, small businesses and large corporations alike. In total, BT boasts more than 7.5 million customers.
The brand was first introduced in 1980, although its roots lie in publicly-owned telegraph companies dating back another century. BT was privatised four years later, in 1984. Nonetheless, its public past is still felt today - BT has the largest national infrastructure network of any broadband provider, maintained through its subsidiary Openreach.
BT also offers a range of services in addition to broadband, which can be bundled in certain deals and promotions. These include landline and mobile phone packages. Landline connections are included automatically with many BT broadband deals, but these work on a pay as you go basis by default. For those who make regular calls from a landline, there are set-minute and unlimited options available that may provide better value than paying per call. At the other end of the spectrum, BT now offers cheaper “broadband only” deals that do not include a landline connection.
The company also runs a number of subscription sports channels. Football broadcasting is a major selling point: BT Sport shares the rights to the Premier League with Sky and Amazon Prime, while exclusively bringing the Champions League and Europa League to the UK market.
What is BT Broadband?
BT Broadband now technically refers to the legacy Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) offering. This technology uses the company’s extensive network of telephone lines to connect homes to the Internet.
ADSL broadband is still available from BT, but only for existing customers, or those living in areas which cannot yet connect to the Superfast Fibre network.
What is BT Superfast Fibre?
BT Superfast Fibre (formerly BT Infinity) is the modern internet connectivity solution from BT. First launched in 2010, this uses a network of fibre cables. In most cases, these run as far as local cabinets, from where traditional copper cables link up individual homes: this is known as “fibre to the cabinet” (FTTC).
However, BT is also in the process of rolling out “fibre to the premises” (FTTP) - for the homes and businesses connected to this network, fibre cables run all the way to the property. This approach is capable of delivering what the company calls “game-changing speeds of up to 900Mb”. BT has previously stated that the goal is to have 15 million premises connected to the FTTP network by 2025.
For now, FTTC fibre is BT’s standard broadband offering. This is broken down into a number of different packages. The basic, Fibre Essential, provides average download speeds of 36Mb. This increases to 50Mb with a Fibre 1 package, rising again to 67Mb with Fibre 2.
There is also a final package class, known as “G.fast”. This is still technically FTTC rather than FTTP, but it can raise download speeds to as much as 330Mb. It achieves this by using the same fibre optic cables, but increasing the frequency range. The downside of this is that it only works over relatively short distances, so properties more than 500m from an exchange will not be able to take advantage of the technology.
Is BT Broadband unlimited?
BT Broadband is unlimited. Unlike some other providers, there is no traffic management, data cap or fair use policy.
Perks of BT
Most internet service providers will offer some special extras as a way of tempting new customers, and holding on to existing ones. BT is no different: below is an explanation of some of the perks available on certain BT contracts.
What is the BT Stay Fast Guarantee?
BT’s Stay Fast Guarantee provides a baseline connection speed for each home. If speeds drop below this, and aren’t fixed within 30 days, the customer is entitled to a £20 refund. In addition, consumers in this situation are able to leave their contract early without incurring any additional fees.
The guaranteed baseline speed varies from property to property, so the majority of customers will still be quoted a custom speed guarantee. But on the Full Fibre packages, BT makes uniform guarantees:
Full Fibre 100: Guarantees 100Mbps download and 10Mbps upload
Full Fibre 300: Guarantees 150Mbps download and 10Mbps upload
Full Fibre 500: Guarantees 250Mbps download and 10Mbps upload
Full Fibre 900: Guarantees 455Mbps download and 10Mbps upload
The Stay Fast Guarantee also entitles all new and renewing customers to a personal line check. BT conducts a test to see whether speeds can be improved - if necessary, they will send out an engineer.
Additionally, the guarantee is a rolling commitment to expert support. Essentially, it is a promise on BT’s part that they will maintain and optimise the internet connection throughout the length of a contract. For more information on how to contact BT support in the event of issues, see the support section of this guide.
Any BT customer who has signed a contract on or after March 1st 2019 is covered by the Stay Fast Guarantee.
What is BT Complete Wi-Fi?
BT Complete Wi-Fi is an optional addition to BT broadband deals which guarantees Wi-Fi signal in every room of the house. For customers that have selected this package, BT promises a £100 refund in the event of a failure to deliver whole-home coverage.
This complete coverage is achieved through the provision of “Wi-Fi discs”. These devices create a chain, automatically connecting to the hub or disc with the strongest connection in order to ensure a usable signal throughout the premises.
Customers can add Complete Wi-Fi for £10 per month.
What are BT Wi-Fi hotspots?
BT Wi-Fi hotspots are a network of public Wi-Fi hotspots situated around the UK. BT customers on any broadband package can connect to any of these hotspots at any time - free of charge. This is a significant perk for those who are regularly away from home, as it can help save on mobile data costs, or provide internet connectivity in low-signal areas.
There are currently 5 million BT Wi-Fi hotspots in locations throughout the UK. Those who are not BT customers have to pay to get access - prices range from £4.99 for an hour up to £39 for 30 days.
What is BT Virus Protect?
BT Virus Protect is a scheme that provides anti-virus software to BT customers. This is supplied in association with digital security company McAfee. Like the hotspot access, it is available to any customer on a BT broadband plan. However, the number of software licences increases on the premium plans. Those on basic plans receive two licences, meaning the anti-virus software can be installed on two devices. On Fibre 2 plans and above, the software can be installed on up to 15 devices.
What is BT TV?
BT TV is a range of premium television channels that are available to broadband customers. There is no way of purchasing BT’s own channels as a standalone package - they can be bought at a premium through certain Sky packages, but BT Broadband customers can always access the best deals.
The reciprocity with Sky works both ways, allowing BT to offer certain Sky channels to BT broadband customers. Notably, this includes all of the Sky Sports channels, as part of the “Big Sport” package.
BT’s sports offering also includes their own broadcaster, BT Sport. These channels broadcast a range of live football, including UK-exclusive rights to the Champions League and Europa League. BT Sport also has rights to multiple Premier League matches, as well as the FA Cup. Other notable sports shown on BT include rugby union and UFC, as well as boxing via BoxNation.
BT TV also offers entertainment packages. While BT does not currently have its own entertainment channels, it makes a number of third-party options available to broadband customers. The premium package comes with all of the Sky Cinema channels, as well as Comedy Central, Sky One, Sky Atlantic and Discovery.
All TV deals also come with a recordable box, which has 300 hours of storage space.
What is BT Cloud?
All BT Broadband customers get exclusive access to cloud storage, allowing them to remotely access and back up files.
The exact amount of storage varies depending on the broadband package - the most basic plans come with 10GB of storage space, but this rises as high as 1TB. The most common broadband package offers 200GB of free space. On any plan, users can also pay to access extra storage capacity.
BT Cloud can be accessed through a web browser, or via the mobile app.
What is BT Email?
All BT customers receive a BT email address. In fact, BT makes up to ten additional email addresses available for use by friends and family of the customer.
However, it is worth noting that these addresses expire if and when the customer changes internet service provider away from BT.
How to contact BT support
BT offers a lot of perks. But things will sometimes go wrong with any internet service provider. If that happens, here’s how you can get in contact with BT:
How do I contact BT by phone?
BT runs a 24-hour phone hotline. Customer service can be contacted by calling 0800 800 150. As this is an 0800 number, it can be called free of charge from any UK landline.
Customers can also text BT support. By texting “HELP” followed by their landline number to 61998, customers can inform BT that they are experiencing issues. BT then run tests - if they find a problem, they text back within 15 minutes to book an engineering slot. If the problem is not clear, BT support will call the customer within 30 minutes to discuss it.
How do I contact BT online?
BT has a range of online support options. Many common questions may already have been answered on the community support forum - around 30,000 solutions have been posted to date.
Failing this, customers can communicate a problem to BT via the Contact Us page.
BT competitors
BT is the UK’s largest broadband provider, but there are a number of alternatives available. Other networks to consider include Virgin Media, Sky and TalkTalk.
Conclusion
That wraps up this guide to BT’s broadband service. There are a whole lot of factors to consider, from the various perks to the different kinds of available packages. Hopefully this has equipped you with the knowledge you need to make an informed decision about whether you want to make BT your next internet service provider.