Changes to consumer broadband products at BT Retail
Thursday 25 January 2007 21:11:22 by Andrew Ferguson
BT Retail has revamped its consumer broadband range and a significant change has been made to BT Total Broadband Option 3 which is now marketed as unlimited usage with a fair usage policy applies. As well as this change there are increases in usage limits on the other two BT Total Options. A short summary of the three BT Total consumer products is provided below, or you can read the providers full description on the BT Retail website.
- BT Total Broadband Option 1: £9.95 per month for 6 months if an 18 month contract is entered into, or with a 12 month contract £12.99 for the first 3 months. Both contracts are charged at £17.99 a month after the promotional period. 5GB (GigaByte) usage allowance, compared to the previous 2GB allowance. Inclusive UK calls via the BT Broadband Talk voice over broadband product. 250 free minutes per month access to BT Openzone Wi-Fi hotspots. BT Yahoo! online protection suite and BT Voyager 220V wired router. Free activation.
- BT Total Broadband Option 2: £14.99 for 6 months on an 18 month contract, or £14.99 for 3 months on the 12 month contract, reverting to £22.99 thereafter. Usage allowance of 8GB per month, inclusive Wi-Fi minutes, inclusive UK calls, wireless BT Home Hub, Norton Security package and free activation.
- BT Total Broadband Option 3: £22.99 for 6 months with an 18 month contract, or £22.99 for 3 months on a 12 month contract, reverting to £26.99 thereafter. Norton Security package, unlimited usage subject to fair usage policy, inclusive Wi-Fi minutes, inclusive UK calls, Wireless BT Home Hub, BT Hub Phone and free activation.
BT has a couple of promotions running on all three products, with those signing up before the end of March 2007 receiving £500 of dabs.com vouchers, and those ordering online will be entered into a draw taking place between now and 1st February 2007.
The BT website has a lot more information, and as always we recommend spending sometime reading the conditions of the various offers, for example if ordering the Option 2 service over the telephone the BT Home Hub costs £25 whereas it is free for online orders. The two options with a usage limit will allow you to exceed the usage limit and where a customer persistently exceeds the usage allowance BT Retail may charge the customer 30 pence per GigaByte of usage. In practice this seems to work as a warning letter the first month, with charges taken on subsequent months exceeding the allowance by a large margin. 30 pence per GigaByte is one of the cheapest per GB charges by a broadband provider in the UK. Other broadband providers commonly charge a usage fee price of 75 pence to £2 per GB.
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Force9 could not go on the way it was being managed. Events highlighted the degree to which ISPs can go missing when they choose to, 'phones services become unusable, letters go unanswered. I think that it is about time that our Internet had an Ombudsman of its very own. We are too much at the whim of these suppliers the majority of whom seem to be flying by the seat of their pants and only able to run unimpressive services by deceitful atmosphere of disputable claims there to be a central repository of their 'crimes and misdemeanours'.
If I'm not mistaken, the 'inclusive UK calls' are only evening/weekend on some options, and could sometimes end up costing more than your landline (e.g. 0800?)
Don't think they have thought those prices through very well.
Option 1: 5gb for 17.99 + 90p for going over by 3gb = 8gb a month usage for £18.89
Option2: 8gb a month usage for £22.99.
So the choice is pay £18.89 or £22.99 for exactly the same thing???
Not quite, swinnertond. You get a free wireless router with Option 2. Plus a firewall that's actually okay. And a couple of other minor benefits.
The inclusive UK calls are only made over the BT Broadband Talk service.
Site here: http://www2.bt.com/static/i/btretail/consumer/home/internet/bbtalk_costs.html
"So the choice is pay £18.89 or £22.99 for exactly the same thing???" - obviously not, as option 2 has other things in it like the Home Hub and Norton package etc.
Wouldn't going 3gb over on Option 1 be a breach of contract if done continually?
That'd be another reason why you don't "pay... for exactly the same thing" when you can go up to 8gb on Option 2, which is within your contract.
Possibly. I believe BT call you and ask nicely if you should be on a "more suitable price plan" though.
But the contracts are still much too long.