BT has unveiled a selection of low-cost 4G tariffs, making a return to the mobile market more than a decade after it spun-off O2. As predicted earlier this week, the company is offering a selection of SIM-only tariffs with big discounts for existing BT broadband customers. Piggy-backing on the EE network, BT's new service offers the same coverage, but at far cheaper rates. Here's everything you need to know about the service.
Tariffs
BT is keeping it simple with its tariffs, offering just three plans. The cheapest deal is for 500MB of data, 200 call minutes and unlimited texts for only £5 per month to existing broadband customers or £10 otherwise. A mid-range tariff boosts the data cap to 2GB and gives 500 call minutes for £12 per month (£17 for non-BT customers). At the top end, you can get 20GB of data and unlimited minutes for £20 per month (£25 for non-BT customers). All tariffs include unlimited access to BT's Wi-Fi hotspot network, which BT broadband customers already get for free anyway. Tethering isn't permitted on any of the tariffs, despite the fixed data caps.
There are no bundled handsets with any of the deals, although BT is offering a thin selection of four low- to mid-range phones from £99, including a discount for existing BT customers.
Contract length, upgrades and downgrades
All of the deals come on a 12-month contract, but BT says customers can move between tariffs, even cheaper ones, without penalty, although customers can only downgrade once during their contract period.
"You can upgrade at any time, and downgrade once during your contract," said Kelly Barlow, director of voice and mobile at BT. "We'll send you usage alerts and recommend you a different plan if we think you're better off on it."
Roaming
Roaming is one of the areas where you don't get such as good deal as with the other networks. At the moment, BT is only offering standard roaming charges. In the EU, for example, calls cost 18.8p per minute, data is 19.8p per MB and SMS messages cost 5.9p each. EE has the same standard charges, but it also offers data and call bundles: unlimited calls in Europe cost £2 a day, for example. The other networks offer similar deals while Three lets you use your standard allowance abroad in a growing number of countries with its Feel At Home service. Barlow told us that similar bolt-on bundles are something that BT is "looking at for the future".
BT does have its SmartTalk app, which lets you make calls over Wi-Fi, which are charged to your landline account. Using this, you can make cheap phone calls when you're abroad using a Wi-Fi network.
Data speeds
The BT service is piggybacking on the EE network, but the highest speeds are limited to EE customers. That means that the double-speed 60Mbit/s and 4G+ 90Mbit/s (the latter requires handset support) are not available to BT customers. Instead, BT Mobile runs on the regular 30Mbit/s service. We don't see that as a big issue and the standard 4G service is plenty fast enough for most people.
Other services, Wi-Fi calling and Visual Voicemail
BT Mobile currently doesn't have the same range of features available as EE. That means that iPhone users don't get Visual Voicemail. It's not a key feature and plenty of other networks don't support it. Besides, all BT Mobile customers do get free calls to standard voicemail.
BT also doesn't support Wi-Fi calling, which will come to EE with the Samsung Galaxy S6. This technology lets you make and receive mobile phone calls when you're on a Wi-Fi network. SmartTalk at least lets you make calls when you're on a Wi-Fi network.
It also appears BT has failed to get its proposed "inside out" technology to work for this initial release. BT had originally planned to use its network of Wi-Fi hotspots to handle calls and data, falling back onto EE's mobile network when customers moved out of Wi-Fi range. However, the company reported teething problems the technology last year, and now merely states that its "roadmap" will "offer customers an innovative 'inside out' 4G service, in order to make sure customers receive the best connection wherever they are".
BT is offering all BT Mobile customers BT Sport for free, which they can access via the app. This applies to people that aren't BT Broadband customers. The company also has its own iOS and Android apps for managing your account and checking your current usage; to avoid bill shock caps can be put in place.
What happens when BT buys EE?
BT is currently in the process of buying EE for a proposed £12.5 billion, and says it will "reveal more details after the deal completes about what [EE] customers will be offered". However, that's a process that could take many months, with the competition authorities likely to be poring over the detail of the takeover.
Conclusion
BT chief executive John Petter says the new tariffs are a "great way to start our journey towards re-establishing ourselves as a major player in consumer mobile". Although if its takeover of EE is approved, that "journey" will be a pretty short one with BT instantly becoming the biggest mobile network in the UK.
For the time being, there's no doubting that BT Mobile is excellent value and highly competitive, particularly if you're already a Broadband customer and you've got your own handset. We'll be getting a SIM in soon to give the service a thorough testing.