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BT Broadband Review
BT is Britain’s biggest broadband provider and a major household name. It boasts the fastest Openreach speeds and comes with a range of benefits at home and out and about.
With standard ADSL and fibre broadband connections, BT is available pretty much anywhere. Plus, BT TV and broadband bundles are reasonably priced compared to the competition. But outside of bundles, BT is also one of the most expensive broadband providers available.
Does BT live up to its name?
Speed: how fast is BT broadband?
BT offers a range of broadband speeds.
|
Broadband Type |
Average Download Speeds |
Good to know |
Ideal For |
|
BT Broadband (ADSL) |
10Mbps |
ADSL speeds vary, your speed may be different to the advertised average |
Small households with light internet use |
|
BT Superfast Fibre Essential |
36Mbps |
Average upload speeds of 9Mbps |
Browsing and streaming on a few devices at once |
|
BT Superfast Fibre 1 |
50Mbps |
Average upload speeds of 9Mbps |
Families or homes streaming and browsing on multiple devices |
|
BT Superfast Fibre 2 |
67Mbps |
Average upload speeds of 18Mbps |
Gamers, large families or shared houses with heavy internet use and multiple devices |
|
BT Ultrafast Fibre 100 |
145Mbps |
Average upload speeds of 28Mbps and not widely available. Comes with guaranteed minimum download speed of 100Mbps |
Gamers, large families or shared houses with heavy internet use and multiple devices |
|
BT Ultrafast Fibre 250 |
300Mbps |
Average upload speeds of 47Mbps. Comes with guaranteed minimum download speed of 150Mbps. Only available to homes with access to 150Mbps or more |
Gamers, large families or shared houses with heavy internet use and multiple devices |
The range of speeds available makes it easier to find one suiting your needs. Plus, BT Broadband is truly unlimited.
Price: how much does BT broadband cost?
BT Broadband is quite competitively priced, check out the table below for a breakdown.
Exit fees are charged for each month remaining on your contract if you terminate early.
If you need a new phone line installed for your broadband, this can cost up to £140. If you already have a phone line then you may not have to pay for connection charges.
For Superfast Fibre broadband there is usually a £60 installation fee. Look out for special deals where these fees are waived.
Check the contract length before signing up, currently BT is offering most of its offers as 24-month contracts.
What makes BT Broadband stand out?
BT broadband comes with a range of benefits:
- Good value TV bundles
- Free access to BT Sport 1 is included in all BT Broadband deals
- Full BT Sport is available with TV bundles
- 80+ Freeview channels as minimum
- BT Cloud storage
- Up to 50GB BT Cloud storage for only £3 a month
- Up to 500GB BT Cloud storage for £9 a month
- Smart Hub router with Superfast Fibre
- Sends Wi-Fi to the most remote rooms in your house
- Filters block your neighbours’ signals and improve your Wi-Fi connection
- Truly unlimited broadband connection
- Free access to thousands of BT Wi-Fi hotspots across the UK
- Home phone
- Free calls to UK landlines
- BT call protect helps stop nuisance calls
- International Freedom package means free calls to 36 countries
Tech: installation and equipment
Installing BT Broadband or BT Superfast Fibre takes around two weeks on average.
BT Superfast Fibre comes with the Smart Hub. Its Wi-Fi technology means multiple devices can connect and get the same fast connection. It is easy to set up yourself at home and you won’t usually need an engineer to visit.
If you are switching from a cable service like Virgin Media, or you do not have an active phone line, you will need an engineer to visit your address. You may be charged an installation fee.
Installation means setting up your new router. You will need to pay a set-up fee and delivery charge of £9.99 - £19.99.
Customer Experience: how is BT rated by customers?
Generally, customers seem to be satisfied with their speeds. Although BT has connectivity issues and many customers complain of being disconnected, according to Ofcom, BT’s overall satisfaction rating is average.
Customer service seems to be BT’s biggest downfall. BT’s customer service ratings are generally quite poor. BT customers tend to report only minor issues with their broadband service, but major problems when trying to get those issues resolved.