BT offers fast fibre broadband with unlimited usage, a huge range of televised sport via its YouView set top boxes and a router that's among the best on the market.
What does BT offer?
In this guide, we’ll cover what BT offers, what we think are its strengths and weaknesses, what we think are its strengths and weaknesses, and what deals you can get.
Ordered a BT package through us and want to claim vouchers? Read our page on claiming cashback, reward cards, or other vouchers.
ADSL Broadband
BT's standard ADSL broadband deal comes with an average speed of 10Mbps, which is very much in line with ADSL broadband deals from the likes of TalkTalk, Sky and Plusnet. It’s only available from BT if you don’t have fibre access in your area.
As well as a standard 24-month contract, you can get BT ADSL broadband on a pay as you go basis, which is good news if you're looking for a short-term broadband solution – for example, if you’re in rented accommodation.
As is standard among household-name providers, BT's standard broadband comes with unlimited usage. So you won't have to worry about running up extra charges, or BT slowing down your connection for exceeding your limit.
Fibre optic broadband
BT offers three fibre optic deals: Fibre Essential, Fibre 1 and Fibre 2, which offer average speeds of 36Mbps, 50Mbps and 67Mbps respectively. These are comparable to similarly priced standard fibre deals from Sky, Plusnet, TalkTalk and EE.
All three BT standard fibre are available on 24-month contracts and come with unlimited usage. They’re broadband-only, too – so you won’t need to get a phone line, if you don’t want one.
They come with BT's Smart Hub 2, which is packed with impressive features to help deliver a fast connection.
BT Full Fibre broadband
If you need an ultrafast service, BT offers a range of full fibre broadband packages. Its Full Fibre 100, 300, 500 and 900 packages boast impressive average speeds ranging between 150-900Mbps.
All packages include unlimited downloads, and a 'Stay Fast Guarantee'. If your broadband speeds dip below that threshold, BT will give you £20.
They're impressively speedy packages: ideal for large households with many connected gadgets, and anyone relying on a good broadband connection for work or gaming.
However, full fibre isn’t as readily available as fibre optic. Head over to our postcode checker to see if you can get it in your area.
BT Halo 3 and Halo 3+
Available for an additional monthly charge, Halo 3 and Halo 3+ are add-ons that aim to guarantee you a working internet connection in the event that your home broadband service goes down.
Sign up for Halo 3 and you'll get a Mini Hub alongside your Smart Hub router. The former monitors your home broadband and connects you to EE's mobile network if it detects a fault with your service.
Halo 3+ works similarly but replaces the Mini Hub with a Hybrid Connect router. The Hybrid Connect also provides a stand-in service from EE when there are connectivity problems with your home broadband
Additionally, Halo 3+ also includes a set of Compete Wi-Fi discs. These combine with the Smart Hub 2 to create a stronger Wi-Fi signal, with the intention of giving a better service throughout your home.
Both Halo 3 and Halo 3+ entitle you extra technical and customer support, with access to panel of Home Tech experts who can be booked in for two-hour slots, seven days a week.
Can I get fibre optic BT broadband?
Certainly – in fact, all BT broadband is now fibre optic by default, as long as you live in a fibre area.
It’s perfect for families and house shares, and makes streaming movies, playing games and downloading content faster and smoother.
All BT fibre packages include a BT Smart Hub wireless router and are truly unlimited. So you won't have to worry about usage caps or BT deliberately slowing down your service at peak times.
Previously, all of BT’s fibre broadband packages came with a landline as standard. However, if you don’t want a home phone, you can now get broadband-only options.
Can I get BT broadband deals in my area?
BT broadband is widely available across the country. So, chances are at least one of its packages will be available where you live.
It’s highly likely you’ll be able to get BT’s Fibre Essential, Fibre 1 and Fibre 2 plans.
However, full fibre broadband isn’t offered everywhere, so BT’s Full Fibre 100, 300, 500, and 900 plans may not be an option.
And if you can’t get fibre in your area at all, BT will give you its standard ADSL package.
To find out which broadband packages are available in your area, enter your postcode below:
What speeds can I get with BT broadband?
That depends on the package you choose, and what's available in your area.
BT's entry-level fibre package gets average speeds of 36Mbps, while its fastest full fibre packages go up to average speeds of 900Mbps.
Speeds of 150Mbps and above aren't nearly as widely available, however, as full fibre is still being rolled out across the country.
To check which speeds are available in your area, use our speed checker.
BT TV
When you sign up for BT broadband, you can also add TV in the form of flexible packs that you can change from month to month.
That's pretty handy if, for instance, you only really want BT Sport during the football season. Then once the season's complete, you could swap it for an entertainment pack.
Here's an overview of what each pack has to offer:
- Entertainment - Includes the full range of Freeview channels, as well as Sky Atlantic, Sky Arts, Comedy Central, AMC and 300 box sets on-demand from Now TV
- Big Entertainment - Gets you all Sky Cinema channels and over 1,000 movies on demand. Plus everything you get with the Entertainment pack too
- Sport - This includes the full range of BT Sport channels and Box Nation. Coverage includes 52 live Premier League games per year, as well as live games from the Champions League and Europa League
- Big Sport - Gets you everything that's in the Sport pack, as well as all 11 Sky Sports channels offering 128 live Premier League games, Formula 1 and The Ashes
- VIP - Pairs everything from the Big Sport and Big Entertainment packs, with HD versions of Now TV, Sky and BT Sport channels
BT's TV offering is based around its YouView set top box, which lets you pause, rewind and record Freeview channels, and access lots of on-demand TV.
It’s all very nicely integrated - for example, if you miss an episode of your favourite show, you can simply scroll back to it in the interactive guide and start watching it on the relevant catch-up service.
However, YouView doesn't have quite the same breadth of features as Sky Q and Virgin Media. So if you want a state-of-the-art set top box, you may want to take a look at their TV packages instead.
Can I bundle BT broadband with TV?
Yes, you can – in fact, you can only get BT TV if you have BT broadband.
It’s one of the more flexible pay-TV services on the market. Based around a YouView set top box, the service lets you watch, record, pause and rewind Freeview channels, easily catch-up on shows you missed and access a vast range of TV shows and movies on-demand.
It's also the cheapest way to get BT Sport on your telly – not to mention, it’s the only place where you can watch the UEFA Champions League.
And you can sign up for NOW TV Memberships and streaming services, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, on a rolling monthly basis too.
BT Phone
- 67Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £29.99 per month
- £27.49 Avg. monthly cost
- 145Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £34.99 per month
- £32.91 Avg. monthly cost
- 300Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £32.99 per month
- £30.91 Avg. monthly cost
- 67Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £34.99 per month
- £32.49 Avg. monthly cost
- 300Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £37.99 per month
- £35.91 Avg. monthly cost
- 145Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £29.99 per month
- £27.91 Avg. monthly cost
- 900Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £44.99 per month
- £42.91 Avg. monthly cost
- 900Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £49.99 per month
- £47.91 Avg. monthly cost
- 500Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £34.99 per month
- £32.91 Avg. monthly cost
- 36Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £11.99 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £34.99 per month
- £35.49 Avg. monthly cost
- 500Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £39.99 per month
- £37.91 Avg. monthly cost
- 50Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £11.99 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £30.99 per month
- £29.41 Avg. monthly cost
*Average speeds are based on the download speeds of at least 50% of customers at peak time(8pm to 10pm). Speed can be affected by a range of technical and environmental factors. The speed you receive where you live may be lower than that listed above. You can check the estimated speed to your property prior to purchasing.
While BT broadband packages used to require you to take a BT landline too, this isn't the case anymore. Nowadays, you don't have to get a landline if you don't want it.
If you do opt to take a landline but don’t think you’ll need a monthly call plan, you can get basic ‘pay as you go’ calls.
Otherwise, you can pick the 700 minutes plan, which gives you 700 minutes a month to make anytime calls to UK landlines and mobiles, or unlimited minutes. And if you want to make calls abroad, you can get an international add-on for an additional cost.
Can I get a home phone with BT broadband?
Absolutely. BT packages can be bundled with a landline. But you don't have to take a landline if you prefer not to.
It's also worth mentioning that you can get a home phone with BT even if your broadband is with another provider.
BT Mobile
BT offers SIM-only plans on 12-month and 24-month contracts. Data allowances range from 4GB/5GB to 100GB per month, as well as unlimited minutes and texts.
All plans include free access to BT's five million Wi-Fi hotspots, inclusive roaming in 47 European destinations and money off your BT broadband bill – to name just a few.
What's more, the more expensive deals also come with the BT Sport app for free.
BT Business
Whether you’re setting up your own business or a home office, BT Business is almost certain to be a better choice than home broadband.
BT Business packages are primarily aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, and range from those suited for sole traders to superfast unlimited options that for good for offices.
You can also get leased lines, static IP addresses and more.
BT existing customer deals
BT offers exclusive, personalised deals to existing customers, which generally allow you to add extras to your existing package for free or at a much lower cost.
By signing up for multiple services from the same provider, you’ll generally save cash and get a single bill that's easier to manage.
What’s good about BT?
- ADSL and standard fibre are available almost everywhere
- Wide range of packages, with an option to suit every user
- Truly unlimited packages with no fair usage policies or traffic management
- BT TV is more affordable than Sky or Virgin Media, with no need to install a satellite dish
- Lots of extras for TV, including additional channels, subscriptions and on-demand box sets and movies
- Excellent BT Sports packages, including exclusive Champions League coverage
- Affordable SIM-only plans with some nice perks, such as money off your broadband bill
- Faster speeds and slightly better 4G coverage than many other networks
What’s bad about BT?
- BT full fibre broadband isn’t available everywhere – use our postcode checker to see if you can get it
- Not the cheapest broadband or line rental in the UK – other Openreach providers are cheaper
- Broadband isn't as fast as Virgin Media
- BT's set top box has fewer features than Sky or Virgin Media, and its TV selection is less extensive
- Can only get BT TV with a BT broadband package
Our latest BT deals
- 67Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £29.99 per month
- £27.49 Avg. monthly cost
- 145Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £34.99 per month
- £32.91 Avg. monthly cost
- 300Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £32.99 per month
- £30.91 Avg. monthly cost
- 67Mb average* speed
- 162 TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £54.99 per month
- £52.91 Avg. monthly cost
- 67Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £34.99 per month
- £32.49 Avg. monthly cost
- 300Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £37.99 per month
- £35.91 Avg. monthly cost
- 145Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £29.99 per month
- £27.91 Avg. monthly cost
- 900Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £44.99 per month
- £42.91 Avg. monthly cost
- 900Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £49.99 per month
- £47.91 Avg. monthly cost
- 500Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £34.99 per month
- £32.91 Avg. monthly cost
- 36Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £11.99 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £34.99 per month
- £35.49 Avg. monthly cost
- 500Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £39.99 per month
- £37.91 Avg. monthly cost
*Average speeds are based on the download speeds of at least 50% of customers at peak time(8pm to 10pm). Speed can be affected by a range of technical and environmental factors. The speed you receive where you live may be lower than that listed above. You can check the estimated speed to your property prior to purchasing.
How does BT broadband compare with other providers?
Check out our reviews, where we pit BT against other broadband providers:
