British Telecom (BT) Option 1 Reviews

Supplier Product Monthly Price Customer Reviews Setup Cost Speed Download Cap Contract
Option 1 £7.95
138 reviews
Free 8Mbps 5GB 18 Months
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Product Overview
Cost Cost £7.95 per month first 3 months, £15.99 per month next 12 months.
Broadband Summary Up to 8 MB, 5 GB cap, free router, security package, 5 email addresses.
Phone Summary Free evening/weekend calls, free wi-fi minutes per month.
Pros Free BT Homehub, packed with features, one monthly BT bill.
Cons 18 month contract, BT line rental fee not included.
Broadband
Download Cap 5 Gb per month (fair usage policy applies)
Downstream speed (max speed) Up to 8 Mbps
Cost for extra usage per Gb £0.30 per excess GB (from month 2)
Upstream speed 448 Kbps
Modem Comes with free wireless BT Home Hub
Anti-Virus protection Yes
Firewall No - but available as add-on via BT Net Protect (£3.50 per month)
Security Suite Yes - Yahoo basic security
Newsgroup access Yes
Webspace 15 Mb of webspace available
Email addresses Up to 5 email addresses available
Space per email In-Box 2 Gb for first address and 1 Gb for each additional address
Contention ratio 50:1
Technical Support Line Free
Customer Support Line Free
Dynamic IP Yes
Single Static IP No
0845 Dial Backup Yes
Suitable for online gaming? Yes
Additional information BT Vision-ready (subject to line speed). Inclusive UK evening & weekend broadband calls. 250 free wi-fi minutes per month. 5GB free online storage
Fixed Line Phone (and VOIP)
UK Weekend Tariff Free anytime to UK landlines
UK Evening Tariff Free anytime to UK landlines
Name Evening & Weekend Call Plan
Type Landline (Carrier Pre Select) & VoIP
Monthly subscription Included in price. For a extra £4.95 a month you can upgrade to the anytime call plan - please see BT website for more information
UK Peak Tariff Just 3.25p a minute
International Tariff Both BT Broadband Talk plans enable you to call countries from just 1.25p per minute
Mobile Tariff From just 7.5p per minute
Handset Hub phone £49.99 extra
Single call duration 60 mins
Use phone when PC/Router is off? If customer has handset ie. BT Hub Phone - PC can be switched off but router must remain on. If customer only has softphone ie.headset, PC must remain on
Single phone number for various networks? Yes
Additional information The standard minimum fee of 5.5p will apply to each chargeable call
Digital TV
Name BT Vision
Type Non subscription
Installation £30 connection fee
Equipment V-box
Monthly subscription fee Included in price
Non-subscription channels Over 70 digital TV & Radio channels
Subscription channels Monthly packages available from £4.00p to £14
Pay Per View Programmes available from £0.29p to £2.99
Video on Demand / Hard Drive N/A
Additional information Once your BT Total Broadband account is activated you'll be able to order BT Vision online
Contract & Payment
Payment method(s) BT Blue Bill
Credit Check? No
Cancellation charges Within contract
Cancelled contract notice period Minimum contract term
Default of payment notice 1 month
Special Offers
Offer rate / details £7.95 per month for first 3 months, then £15.99 thereafter
 

The vast majority of UK broadband providers rely on BT phone lines and BT exchanges to supply services to their customers. In the case of BT, the company is only reliant on itself. This gives the company great scope to build on the level of packages it offers and also makes it one of the most accessible broadband providers in the UK.

In recent years, BT broadband has used this leading market position to grab a massive share of the market - and it is currently the most popular broadband provider in the UK. It has been able to maintain this position due to competitive price packaging and being among the leaders in expanding broadband technology into both phone and television use with BT Fusion and BT Vision.

Who is British Telecom (BT) broadband ideal for?

Basically, BT Total Broadband has something for everyone. With 8Mb speeds on all packages and large download limits (the 5Gb on Option One will be more than adequate for more than 90% of users), you don't need to compromise on any of the services you would expect from a good broadband deal. Instead you simply make your choice based on contractual length (all packages offer 12 and 18 month deals), pricing and the additional services you require.

What do you need?

  • A BT phone line.
  • BT Total Broadband packages come with the option of a wireless BT 'home hub' but you can also use other BT approved modems.
  • PC users require Windows 2000 or above while Mac users need 8/9 or higher, or Mac OSX.

What else does British Telecom (BT) have to offer?

With BT broadband there are a host of added incentives including 5Gb of free online storage with all three packages; 24/7 customer support; inclusive evening and weekend broadband calls; and 250 Wi-Fi minutes per month.

However, what really sets BT broadband aside from other packages in the market are the additional services you can tie to your broadband connection. For example, the home hub is a wireless router that updates itself automatically so it always stays secure and with Option Three this comes with the BT hub phone on which you can make cheap internet calls.

Also, if you take out BT Total Broadband you can add-on BT Vision and gain access to more than 70 digital TV and radio channels. There is also a wide range of on-demand programming through BT Vision – but you must live in a Freeview area to qualify.

To summarise, BT offers services that continue to be at the cutting edge of the broadband market and with its huge service advantage its offers are difficult to ignore.

* Fair use policy applies.

 
Overall Rating

These average scores represent customer ratings for the displayed retailer, calculated from all the customer reviews displayed below.

Reviews

I Rue Day I First Called BT

Added 14/05/2008, reviewed by Brian (Haywards Heath)

Broadband Ratings

8 Mbits/sec they said. Well perhaps not quite that fast. Too right, "not that fast" ! Best speed is 256 Kbits/sec and that is on a good day. Call support ? Yes, you might get a response after an hour. Then of course you will be transferred and transferred ad nauseum. Emailing BT is a joke, most of the time they simply ignore you. If you are favoured enough to get a reply it is always fatuous and suggests you read a FAQ. As a company, BT is a disgrace. Their offerings are shameful. I rue the day I called them. If you enjoy frustration and appalling service, then go ahead - become a customer. Believe what you read about the other critical reviews.

This review is the subjective opinion of a Moneysupermarket user and not of Moneysupermarket.com.

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Good, Bad, Good

Added 05/05/2008, reviewed by anonymous (West Yokshire)

Broadband Ratings

I had my BT option 3 broadband for about 4 months after moving house and had always had a good speed 5.2 - 5.8mbps and then one day down to 133kbps I rang BT and had a line engineer onsite within 48hours, they fixed a line issue and the broadband picked up, now on 1.3mbps. I rang BT again and over the course of three months I had 5 engineers and finally my broadband is back to speed. To be fair to BT it wasn't an easy issue with a combination of things causing the problems and I don't deny that I had to chase and wine, but name a company that listens 1st time every time. I have nothing but praise for BT and the case management team who helped to resolve my issue and I will remain a loyal BT customer for sometime to come :)

This review is the subjective opinion of a Moneysupermarket user and not of Moneysupermarket.com.

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lowsy speed

Added 04/05/2008, reviewed by christine (houghton-le-spring)

Broadband Ratings

I joined in august last year. On the bt web site they tested the line speed, said they could give me 2-3 mb speed. I have only recieved 1mb. and even then it is slower as it has to go from home hub to my wireless laptop. It drops to 54, which is slower than dial-up. Have sent them two e-mails with no response am going to switch to some one else. They should be fined very heavily for their lies.

This review is the subjective opinion of a Moneysupermarket user and not of Moneysupermarket.com.

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Utter Rubbish

Added 28/04/2008, reviewed by anonymous (bromley)

Broadband Ratings

I had BT install internet and phone in January and the phone has not worked since. I have not made or received a single call since that date and they still send me estimated bills and demand money. I have to psych myself up to ring them as it makes my blood pressure go through the roof, they pass you from pillar to post and it is most frustrating to say the least. Why are these companies allowed to behave like this.

This review is the subjective opinion of a Moneysupermarket user and not of Moneysupermarket.com.

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Nighmare!

Added 27/04/2008, reviewed by Jeff (Baxter)

Broadband Ratings

If I could go back I would have never signed up with BT. I have had nothing but problems and no help from any of the BT staff. Phone call after phone call to the help desks and various depts. The only thing I have received from them on time is my bill and even that was wrong. I would pay double the monthly charge to go to a company who didn't mess me around so much. www.bthell.co.uk

This review is the subjective opinion of a Moneysupermarket user and not of Moneysupermarket.com.

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