ISP BT Launches New Converged Plus Fibre Broadband and 4G Plans
As expected BT’s consumer UK ISP division has today launched their new range of “Plus” FTTC, FTTP and G.fast based “fibre broadband“, phone and 4G bundles, which among other things means that if your fixed line goes down then the mobile data takes over and adopts “unlimited” usage.
In addition, BT Plus customers will receive a free upgrade to BTMobile’s fastest 4G and double the mobile data allowance. On top of that their Ultrafast Fibre Plus packages also come with a 100Mbps speed guarantee (even at peak times), backed up with the promise of £20 compensation if the speed drops below that level. Customers will further benefit from 24/7 dedicated UK and Ireland support as well as a “Broadband Price Freeze” for 18 months.
The core features of the new “Plus” solution were announced last week (here) and the launch of today’s new packages appears to have been well timed to coincide with the introduction of the new advertising rules, which requires internet service providers to display “average” download speeds (a median measured at peak time).
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Pete Oliver, MD of BT Marketing and Sales, said:
“We know our customers’ lives revolve around being connected at home and on the go, and that it’s a challenge for families to manage all of their mobile and broadband services. We’re launching BT Plus to make it easier for our customers to get the best of fibre and 4G to stay connected wherever they are, and our Keep Connected Promise means that if ever there’s a problem with your broadband – we’ll use 4G to keep your family connected while we fix it.”
BT Plus is available to new and existing customers from BT.com and over the phone. In addition, BT Plus fibre will be available through EE retail stores nationwide. The new bundles with mobile are available starting from £61.99 inc. VAT per month (£54.99 without mobile) and we’ve done a quick summary below.
All packages include an 18 month contract term, unlimited fixed line usage and phone line rental. In addition, you can add a BTMobile SIM plan starting from 1GB (500MB plan with 500MB free) and going up to 80GB (40GB plan with 40GB free) for an extra cost (adding mobile means you gain both double data and the failover ‘Keep Connected Promise‘). All mobile plans include unlimited minutes and texts.
The BT Plus Bundles (Examples)
SUPERFAST FIBRE PLUS (67Mbps Average) + £9.99 upfront
PRICE: £54.99 a month for 18 months (£58.99 thereafter)SUPERFAST FIBRE 3 PLUS (145Mbps Average) + £59.99 upfront
PRICE: £54.99 a month for 18 months (£59.99 thereafter)SUPERFAST FIBRE 4 PLUS (300Mbps Average) + £59.99 upfront
PRICE: £59.99 a month for 18 months (£64.99 thereafter)
Generally the extra 1GB mobile plan adds +£7 per month to the above costs, while 10GB adds +£12 and 80GB adds +£35. On top of that it’s not a typo that BT’s older 67Mbps FTTC (VDSL2) package is the same contract term price as their newer 145Mbps (FTTP / G.fast) plan, they’re clearly trying to encourage uptake of the new ultrafast products.
In addition, we note that the FIBRE 3 and FIBRE 4 packages both give new customers a £130+ BT Reward Card (MasterCard) to spend. Our only gripe is that BT could do with making the package features and mobile costs clearer on their website, so you didn’t have to run through their order system before being able to see all the extras and costings.
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Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook and Linkedin.
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Who’ll be next to try and match that?
Many will baulk at the £62 but many will see some value in that. I just wish i could get fttp 🙁
BT’s ownership of EE puts them in a stronger position than rivals for such services. By comparison O2 and Three UK don’t have a fixed line network of their own and Vodafone still largely piggybacks off Openreach, until they build some better coverage of FTTH with Cityfibre. Meanwhile MVNO arrangements with other operators (e.g. Virgin Media) may limit the flexibility for such services.
Very boring idea by bt. Mine is cheaper fibre 80/20 with line only and unlimited calls unlimited texts and 6GB data (4G) for total cost per month £24 with £17 a month discount offer with referral scheme discount.
Comparing to ZEN where:
Unlimited Full Fibre 3 is £52pm and £55 setup costs;
Unlimited Full Fibre 4 is £76.99pm and £55 setup costs;
So BT is cheaper for Fibre 4 (300Mbps) by £17 a month but is £3.99 pm more for Fibre 3 (150Mbps).
With BT the price difference between 3 and 4 is hardly mind blowing at £5 pm though.
Interesting times.
Virgin already offer home broaband plus unlimited 4G Mobile
* Virgin VIVID 50 (54Mbps Average) + £20 upfront
Mobile – Unlimited 4G Data / Unlimited minutes / Unlimited texts
PRICE: £52.00 a month for 12 months (£58.00 thereafter)
* Virgin VIVID 100 (108Mbps Average) + £20 upfront
Mobile – Unlimited 4G Data / Unlimited minutes / Unlimited texts
PRICE: £57.00 a month for 12 months (£63.00 thereafter)
* Virgin VIVID 200 (213Mbps Average) + £20 upfront
Mobile – Unlimited Data / Unlimited minutes / Unlimited texts
PRICE: £62.00 a month for 12 months (£68.00 thereafter)
* Virgin VIVID 350 (362Mbps Average) + £20 upfront
4G Mobile – Unlimited 4G Data / Unlimited minutes / Unlimited texts
PRICE: £67.00 a month for 12 months (£73.00 thereafter)
Can you use that unlimited data with tethering or is it just for use from the handset?
It’s truly unlimited/unrestricted, which is good because it means Three has real competition again, hopefully meaning a return of the One Plan and/or lower priced AYCE plans.
I guess Virgin’s reasoning is that heavy users will use their cable connection for big downloads.
Sadly none of the above offers are available to me here in Devon, those of us who can only get ADSL via OR and nothing else are excluded.
@ Mike, this excites me. I can obtain 60+Mbps throughput on 4G with 3 although I am Rural but tethering is capped at 30GB per month since they dropped the One Plan. If 3 open things up again it would solve all of my problems, I could dump BT (inc Landline) and be free again, and save money of course!
“which among other things means that if your fixed line goes down then the mobile data takes over and adopts “unlimited” usage.”
I don’t think it’s as slick as that yet. Maybe in a future version of the hub.
I believe they send you a BT mini hub when you log a fault. So it’s not a seamless failover.
I believe unlimited data is activated on the mobile account within an hour of reporting a fault.
Yes. And then when the mini hub arrives it is unlimited data on that and the handsets until the fault is fixed.
Purely a marketing move currently. Mobile data still limited. Interestingly Virgin Media who also use EE (at max 50Mbps rather than 60Mbps) include an unlimited mobile data option. Ideal if you have a son/daughter at University (or similar) they can stream without limit while you use VM broadband at home. This BT bundle doesn’t really provide this or any backup better than tethering to your mobile.
As with all packages we need to compare the bundle with like for like alternatives and each separate element. Unless you can use all the aspects of a bundle package it is not worth much.
Once we get closer integration, so we can move between broadband and mobile data whilst streaming without interruption, then these combined bundles will make more sense from a technical perspective. Until then these mobile offers are just addons.
I’m not sure why this is a fibre only product. I can see value in a product that gives the same backup for ADSL – providing say a guaranteed 10Mbps. It would quickly and easily get almost all properties up to USO standards. Or are BT waiting for government £££ before tackling USO?
BT offered to do the USO for free and were rejected by the Government so it is no longer their problem.
If the Tories want to play silly beggars then BT should leave them to it.
And use the courts when The Tories mess it up and try to force BT to do some hair brained scheme which is financially mad for a private company.
Possibly to encourage more people to move away from ADSL.
Looks from the media statement that EE’s hybrid broadband will offer ADSL backup and speed boost, but we will have to wait until 2019 to find out for sure.
Is there any where we can see BTs roll out plan for gfast.. I’m interested but would be nice to see when my area would be upgraded
@Stophiding Move away from ADSL to what? We have no other service available!
So 100mbps speed guaranteed? So how exactly is that going to work when the vast majority of the UK is part fibre optic and mostly copper running from road to house a and def not fibre in the house to the router. I’m just waiting for the ‘up to’ bit from BT
Not 100!
This is from the email they sent to me. Over sell…!
Terms and conditions
Prices and terms subject to change during the contract term.
80% UK availability. BT Plus: BT Plus is linked to the broadband product you’re on – if you cancel or move to a broadband product that is not part of Plus, you will lose your benefits. Terms apply, see bt.com/btplusterms. Superfast speeds: Superfast Fibre Plus (67Mbps) is 6 times faster than the average speed of our standard broadband at peak time (10Mbps). 4G speeds vary by location, coverage and demand Broadband Price Freeze: Applies to broadband and line rental monthly price only, for 18 months from when you first take BT Plus. Excludes other BT services, add-ons and out of plan charges Keep Connected Promise: See bt.com/btplusterms. You’ll need to contact us to report the fault. Mobile network coverage required. Applies for the duration of your fault only.
†Not all lines in Infinity-enabled areas can support the Infinity service. Visit bt.com/infinity to see if your line can. Call us or visit bt.com/speed to see if we can connect your home.
1The UK’s most powerful wi-fi signal: To verify, see bt.com/smarthub