UK ISP BT Launches 6 Months Half Price Fibre and TV Deals
New customers of UK ISP BT will, from later this morning, be able to take one of their ADSL, FTTC, G.fast and FTTP based broadband packages or TV bundles at half price for the first 6 months of service on a 24-month minimum term, including free setup. On top of that, their Full Fibre packages will attach a £50 Reward Card (£110 on certain TV bundles).
Customers can also expect to receive an included wireless router, a 24-month contract term, unlimited data usage, Virus Protect, Parental Controls, the Stay Fast Guarantee (get the speeds they promise or £20 back) and free access to BT’s national network of public WiFi hotspots. Anybody taking the operator’s optional phone service will also get nuisance call blocking via Call Protect.
The promotion means that prices will now start at £16.49 per month (usually £27.99) for their 10Mbps (ADSL) broadband package and rise to £27.99 per month (usually £55.99) for their top 900Mbps (FTTP) tier. But in many ways this is just a different twist on last month’s promotion of 3 months free service. Take note that BT’s special offers can vary a lot by location, so other people may see something different.
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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, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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I don’t think so, I am not a fan of these bundles, you pay for something you may not use. I don’t watch normal Tv, no licence, so these bundles would be useless for me.
Even more expensive base price than VM who I am currently with. Last time my parents were with BT FTTP, they flat out denied being on HALO package with 4G backup. Area failure and they just refused backup dongle despite us having proof from them we were on the package. Some woman in a home with kids screaming and a dog barking in the background. We said never again to using them after that episode.
If you ever need to contact virgin media, god help you…
@John, it has been many years since I was with BT, but if they are the same now as when I was with them, then what you say about VM goes for BT,, for a start trying to understand someone with a strong accent struck in another country with an awful phone line was hard enough and then when they were reading from script and would not change from that script. That is why I dumped BT, after having an argument on the phone and telling them they were useless.
Granted I am with plusnet now which belongs to BT, but the few times I have contacted them at least I get sense out of them, and they have British call centres, even if some do have a strong Yorkshire accent 🙂 they will also listen and take notice, well they did when I last contacted them, I know it was a while ago.
I would never go back to Bt,
Saying that some other large providers are not much better if any better with customer service.
just to add to my post above, VM may be cheaper, but no good if it is not available, which for a large part of the country it is not. Not sure if I would go with VM even if it was available. There was a time when I would have, but after hearing some of the problems people have with VM.
I was thinking of staying where i am when the contract runs out next year, but with the cost of living the way it is, I think I may look for something cheaper, which is a shame as I am happy with plusnet
BT now have UK call centre staff. VM puts you through to foreigners from my experience and you keep getting disconnected, sometimes on purpose from what reviewers say. BT now ask you for an alternative phone number in case you get disconnected so they can ring you back. Wouldnt go anywhere else for broadband at the minute but BT especially for all the extras you get.
@Kenneth, It is good that they now have UK call centres, because the ones they had in India were awful, but do they still just stick to a script? My last ISP was great with customer service, because they did not read a script, they knew what they were on about, just a shame they could not cope with the amount of people using it.
You say about the extras you get with B T, but what extras? If you mean TV then I have no interest in that.
I am confused, just to see what is available, I put my address in Bt checker to see what is available to me just to be nosy and it says I can get full fibre, but as far as I know we can’t get full fibre via openreach. So something is confused. Not that I am interested in having full fibre if I was going for full fibre i would go to Zzoomm at the end of my plusnet contract.
I think the BT checker is confused.
I would never go back to BT, awful service I had from them.
Ok, I just had a look at plusnet site and it seems like we can get full fibre here with openreach network now, that changed since last week.
i wonder how long it will be before plusnet start sending me emails to go to full fibre. I also wonder if they will push me to it if I renew my contract. Not interested in full fibre
to AD47UK
BT give you free antivirus and security software and hire thousands of cyber security experts to protect their network. I have noticed on BT you get very few viruses, if any (for me anyway). Their WIFI mesh system is also good and stable, although you can get faster. The main advantage is a higher upload speed vs VM. You also can get free engineer visits to fix any network and tech issues you may have. I dont think i know any other ISP that offers that. Their price promise is every time you recontract you dont pay more than a new customer. Thats all that comes to mind. And on 900meg you are guaranteed not to go below 700.
@Kenneth, Plenty of free antivirus and security software around and most of the time what comes with Windows is fine. I have not had a virus for a few years,
Don’t you have to pay extra per month for their Wi-fi mesh thing? Like if it helps you get better Wi-fi then you may think it is worth it, but you can buy mesh systems outright if required. I am lucky Wi-fi is good around the house, not that I use Wi-fi for the computer, but I do have a lot of smart home devices on wifi.
I think if I was paying for 900Mb/s I would not want it to go under 700Mb/s, if I was paying £56 a month then I would want as close to 900Mb/s as they could get. Not that I would pay that amount for broadband, no matter what the speed is.
If it works for you then fine, but all I want from a broadband provider is the connection, that is one of the reason I went for plusnet, they offered me a connection at an Okay price without any gimmicks. At the end of this contract I may even look at now broadband, 12-month contract around 36Mb/s for around £20 a month. The only problem is it is Sky, but if it is cheaper than plusnet and a shorter contract.
Ad47uk
I just qualified with a higher education course in computers. Never trust free security software. For example free VPN’s have tunnels designed to let hackers into your system that’s why its free. Same goes for antivirus and firewalls. The mesh is only £3 a month and you get a new set every time they are upgraded so it works out cheaper. If you buy your own you are out of pocket. No other ISP guarantees that speed 24/7. Vodafone only goes to around 400. If all you want is broadband then get normal broadband but there are thousands of people/gamers that are willing to and want 900meg or thereabouts plus all the extras to save money.
@Kenneth
Not to berate what you learned via your HE Computer course but in the scheme of things there’s little to no difference between Free/Soft/Paid when it comes to “trust”.
As to VPN’s, VPN’s are not designed to let hackers into your system, if you think this then you do not understand what is goign on.
Also, BT having less Virus/Malware.. Seriously?
I am glad you got a HE diploma in some Computer course, but if this is what your instructor taught you then It’s really worrying and they should not allowed to be teaching.
Regarding Free/Soft/Paid and Open/Closed (All 3 can be Open or Closed in part or in whole) but generally all will have the same “risk”. From my small IT lifespan, I have only been dealing with IT for 30 years or so, most “Virus” problems have been from people installing it to get something for “Free” that they know they should be paying for. The majority of things I see now are socially engineered thefts (That facebook users call “Hacking” or Virus”, when in reality for most it’s just idiocy).
Imagine it… (Hey I need to use your phone number to generate a passcode for my bank account, tell me when you get the code, oh sure, derp, here it says it’s my account and not to share the code, here it is, I know it’s okay I teach HE computer courses)… LOL….
Some free VPN’s are designed by hackers deliberately and made out to be protecting you. Yes i know how VPN’s work. You need to go back to learning as your knowledge is out of date with the latest security threats. When was your qualification issued to you? Mine was issued 2 months ago. You really need to go back and learn about the latest IT threats as your info is out of date.
A quick summary from google about the security risks of free VPN’s.
False claims and compromised security. According to a CSIRO study, despite their claims, about 18% of free VPNs don’t encrypt your traffic. …
Getting infected with malware. More than a third of free Android VPN apps contain some type of malicious software, meaning some of the most popular in your Google search are unsafe. …
Data collecting and sharing with third parties. ..
I dont want to start an argument with anyone. I’d rather post constructive information about networks etc. But you really need to learn more about security. Google it and see.
@Kenneth. um, you say not to trust free security software and yet you are using free security software from BT. a lot of free internet security software are from big players, they make it free with stuff disabled or with adverts hoping people will update to the paid version. The thing is, and I hate what I am going to say, but with Windows security being a lot better than it used to be, is there any need for third party security software these days? I use a paid version of Commodo myself, as for VPN, I use Nord, I got it for a good deal, but their phnoe app is awful.
Most mesh systems get updated or do you mean yours get updated hardware wise? If that is right, then what a waste of resources. While routers, mesh systems and stuff like that should be updated for security wise, do people really need the latest in Wi-fi technology? My old TP-link router which is 2.4Ghz only is far better than the Zyxel my provider gave me, that 2.4Ghz wif-fi even went outside almost to the bottom of the garden and that is a fair distance. The zyxel 5ghz signal only just about made it outside the door. The 2.4 part did go a bit further, but not as good as the old TP-link.
I am using a Plusnet hub 2 at the moment as the zyxel went pop. A mate fixed it, but it still has problems. I was thinking of putting the TP-link back in line. But then I may make my own router if I can get the hardware at a decent price. I have a FTTC modem, so that bit is sorted.
So sometimes the older tech is better than the newer tech. The one problem with the TP-link is that it is not updated any more firmware wise.
While I don’t really need a Mesh system for indoor use, I did think about one for outdoor use, put the unit just outside the door undercover.
I have got normal broadband, FTTC at 36Mb/s more or less, does what I need, I understand that some people want the super-duper speed, even if they don’t need it, just to say they have it. I came across someone like that a week ago, I have 2,000 Mb/s FTTP, as if it is something to boast about, good for them, if they are stupid enough to pay £100 a month for it. Talking to him further, found out he was the only one who used it, and he just use it for normal internet stuff. People have been playing games on less than 900Mb/s for years, I realise that games are a bit more advanced these days, but I doubt they need 900Mb/s or anywhere near, otherwise a lot of people will not be able to play them. Ping is what matters.
i am glad you are happy with what you have.
About this guarantee of speed, No one can guarantee top speed 24/7, lots of things can slow broadband down. I had a look at plusnet FTTP, just too be nosy as I can get it now if I wanted it, and their 145Mb/s has a 80Mb minimum guaranteed speed. Not being funny but if I was paying for 145Mb/s, then I would want more than 80Mb/s minimum guaranteed speed, upload is 30Mb/s. If I was going for fibre I would go for zzoomm since it is available in my area for not much more and 150Mb/s down and 150Mb/s up. But their router is awful, so I would need to get a better one.
as I said, I am glad you are happy with what you have, but nope, I would never go back to BT.
Nice that you have qualified for a higher education course in computers, but that could mean anything to be honest and some of the people I have seen that comes from uni and higher education don’t inspire me, and they end up in the same job as me.
Not saying you will and I hope you do well.
Showing as normal price for 900 Mbps in my area
You said
“For example free VPN’s have tunnels designed to let hackers into your system that’s why its free.”
Then you follow that up and say, from google “about 18% of free VPNs don’t encrypt your traffic.”.
Encription ≠ Tunnels for Hacking. In fact, Many ISP’s have only in recent years had End to End encription for the data of yours they carry. If you REALLY want to dig deep into the 9 year old research document you quote, it raises concerns on about 2 of the 283 tested. Not only that it details what was tested and quotes materials. Chances are that your not using Secure DNS (encrypted) and that 18% is mostly talking about non-encription of things like DNS request.
Are there some malicious VPNs out there – Yes of course, some are even ones that cost money.
One should be careful with research papers. For example I Hijack my DNS to block adverts and tracking, some tools/resource materials would count my system as “hacked” when it’s not.
You said “Getting infected with malware. More than a third of free Android VPN apps contain some type of malicious software”. I would be happy to see some proof on that, had you said 3% then It would pass the smell test, but over 33% of all “Free” Android VPN’s (Store published) having malware, Doesn’t pass the smell test.
ISP’s, This website, Facebook, Twitter, MANY email providers, the NHS, Data sharing takes place an awful lot. In fact, It’s possible to identify me on the internet due to how and what I block. Data Collection and Sharing may be upsetting but it’s not illegal and is usually listed in the terms and conditions.
I don’t use vpn’s (if I did I wouldn’t use one based on 2000-2010 security) with exception of the one I run at home. Android and Apple both now have native support for VPN (instead of software hooks) so excluding some rare cases few people should “need” a stand alone VPN app.
I am not starting an argument either, Just saying your views are a mixture of paranoid and wrong. BT’s networks are no more “safe” than other networks, and VPN’s are not out there to steal everything from you. Is there bad Apps – Yes. Do some networks have Faults – Yes. Are some VPN providers monetizing you – Yes. Are some VPN providers bad actors – Yea. In the scheme of things are you more likely to be hit by a bus or get hacked on a NonBT line while using Malware Laden VPN software – I would look out for the Bus.
‘I am not starting an argument either, Just saying your views are a mixture of paranoid and wrong.’.
I hate to say this but most of those quotes from me where copied and pasted from other websites, so it wasnt my info that i made up. Did you know that the HE/Cisco Cyber Security course i did is the standard that is required basic knowledge for employment in GCHQ? Now i didnt do the certificate for GCHQ as it wasnt available on my course but all the stuff i learned in required basic knowledge. As i said those quotes you posted from me are from other sources, not mine.
*Shrug*…
33%+ of Android Store Apps being infected will not be true. I can find a lot of “things” in google too, that doesn’t mean they are true.
I stand by what I said, if you think (free) VPN’s are set up just so people can hack you and that there’s not even twice as many “safe” apps as “infected” apps then you were taught junk. Not saying these problems don’t exist, but the scale you think is WAY wrong. Your own “source” seems to show 2 out of 283 could be a bad actor – that’s not anywhere near 34%.
This your course, Kenneth? https://www.serc.ac.uk/course/Cisco-Cyber-Security-Essentials/11515
If you were told that’s required for GCHQ I’ve some bad news for you.