BT Broadband

BT Total Broadband offers outstanding value from just £7.95 a month with a free BT Home Hub. Get BT Vision for on-demand digital TV for just £30.

Online exclusive! £20 off when you order BT Total Broadband online

In this section

• BT online shop
• BT packages
• BT awards
• BT features
• BT news

Services

Services

• Free wireless router
• Home broadband
• Mac compatible
• Online storage
• Security package
• Support
• ADSL broadband
• Digital TV
• Free connection
• Calls
• Mobile phone
• VoIP
• Webspace
• Email
• Price excludes VAT
• Static IP address
• Trial period
• Business broadband
• Fair usage policy

Company history

Company history

BT Total Broadband offer simple, highly-competitive broadband packages and pride themselves on their excellent service and support. Perfect for families, beginners and experienced broadband users alike, BT Total Broadband has a package to fit. Not just a broadband provider, BT Total Broadband is only one part of the ever-strident BT.

As a company, BT has a long and influential history. It all started over 160 years ago as the ETC, the first company outside of The States to manage and transmit commercial telegraphs. This successful and innovative venture eventually led to an amalgamation with the GPO (General Post Office). An umbrella company was formed which united all aspects of communication.

BT Total Broadband is the broadband arm of BT's operation. After more than a century in the private sector, the communications industry was nationalised and split into post and telecommunications; British Telecom was born. In 1982 the company was re-privatised and ten years later it was re-branded as BT.

Today BT serves 3.5 million customers in the UK, and operates in 170 countries. Much like the days of the ETC, BT still pioneers new technology and is one of the most highly acclaimed ISPs (see Awards above). BT’s rich history has informed a work ethic of innovation, reliability and, above all, connection.

Customer service

Customer service

Finding help couldn’t be easier with BT Total Broadband's online support page, providing a ‘virtual assistant’ for instant answers to frequently asked questions. You can also use BT Total Broadband's ‘live’ page which tracks faults and provides progress reports and telephone support open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Calls cost 4p per minute with a call set-up fee of 3p per call, when calling from a residential line.

Also available is BT Home IT Call for just £9.99 a month offering increased access to support advisors who can work remotely to assess the problem (open 8am to 11pm, 7 days a week, 365 days a year).

Equipment

Equipment

Get wireless connection with BT Total Broadband Home Hub 1.5 (free with options 1, 2 and 3 when ordering online) as well as a BT Hub Phone (free with Option 3 only).

BT Vision equipment (£30 for new BT Total Broadband customers) brings a host of digital TV to BT Total Broadband customers. The V-box allows you to record, pause and rewind live TV and opens up a whole world of on-demand viewing.

As standard, all BT Broadband packages also includes a Microfilter to connect your router to the phone line and an installation CD with instructions on getting started! BT Home IT engineers are also available to install your broadband for you with appointments starting from £50.

Software features

Software features

All BT Broadband packages in the BT Total Broadband range are available with email anti-virus and spam blocker, anti-spyware protection, pop-up blocker, online fraud prevention and parental controls. Options 2 and 3 offer free Norton advanced security, which includes Norton AntiVirus and Norton Personal Firewall, and automatic updates for full computer protection. BT also offers NetProtect for Option 1 customers, offering a higher level of security on the basic package, and automatic updates against viruses for £3.50 a month.

Email features

Email features

BT Yahoo! Mail provides up to five separate email addresses and inboxes with 2GB of email storage. All BT Broadband accounts come with advanced email security, SpamGuard Plus for junk email protection, and advanced virus cleaning. There is also the option of AddressGuard, which provides a ‘disposable’ email address when you do not want to give out your real email address.

Extras

Extras

My Offers is available to all BT Total Broadband customers offering money-saving deals on a range of lifestyle products as well as food and drink, and travel and leisure breaks. John Lewis, Thorntons, RAC and Haven are just some of the household brands featured offering half-price holidays, money-off vouchers, concessionary prices and a whole range of discounts only available to BT Broadband customers.

BT news

• Special report: BT fibre optic roll out
  20th November 2008
  BT has moved to deny reports that its roll out of a next-generation fibre optic network has...
• Full steam ahead: BT not backing down from fibre plans
  19th November 2008
  BT has moved to quash suggestions that it is backing down from the creation of a £1.5...
• BT in customer service drive
  18th November 2008
  BT has embarked on a drive to improve the customer service it provides to broadband...
• BT named as one of top UK firms
  18th November 2008
  BT has been recognised as one of the top companies in the UK in the Observer's recently-published...
• BT make online offer
  17th November 2008
  Those considering opting for one of BT's Total Broadband packages may be interested to know that...
• BT feels pressure to hold back on next-gen plans
  14th November 2008
  The ongoing economic downturn being experienced in the UK at present has put BT under pressure to...

Customer reviews

• Rubbish Rubbish Rubbish - 3months before they eventually got me connected, and when they did the connection was so slow, it was ridiculous. I would never recomend them to anyone and their customer service is terrible. It doesn't seem to matter how many premium rate numbers you call, you are never talking to the right department, I wouldn't leave a star but seems I have to.

  j hudson, 04th November 2008

• BT what a mess from over-pricing to rubbish customer service. Call-back from people I can't understand, nor can they understand me. Cancellation fees of over 700 pounds despite being without services for over a month now since I moved, totally RUBBISH! I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.

  s soan, 03rd November 2008

• BT - welcome to my nightmare - horrific customer service - paying for 8mb never passed 3mb - only reached 5mb after cancelling my contract. Been with TalkTalk for 2 weeks - they manage to provide 6.7mb. BT, what a joke !!

  B. Cassani, 13th October 2008

• BT is great for value and I'm very happy with my Home Hub and the speed I'm getting. Calls aren't bad for price either if you call at the right time.

  Marie Ryder, 26th September 2008

• BT is great for value and I'm very happy with my Home Hub and the speed I'm getting. Calls aren't bad for price either i if you call at the right time.

  Marie Ryder, 26th September 2008

• I really dont understand why I pay for 8Mb and get almost 4Mb.

  Top10-broadband.co.uk even say that I where I live, I should get 6.5Mb. Not fair and honest... Too bad I signed an 18 months contract, once I get enough money to pay the penalty I'll cancel the contract and move to some other company.

  Lucas Roberto Giuliani, 05th September 2008

• The problem management at BT is rubbish!

  The agents just read from scripts! They don't realise that some of us know what we are doing and can see port blocking for what it is! If the network was not being monopolised for voice traffic then the data flow, which is what we pay for, would be much faster!!

  Put this on your site if you dare!!

  basher, 13th August 2008

• Like some others here I've been on BT's premium broadband package and download speeds have been awful - often less than 0.4Mb!!! I've just thrown the BT HomeHub in the bin for a Linksys WAG200G £49 and immediately seen dowload speed increase to a steady 1.6Mb - still poor but after you've been at 0.4M you feel Christmas has come early ;-)

  I've been loyal to BT but I'm now seriously thinking about a change of provider if they can't offer better speed on a so called 'premium' service.

  Steve, 12th August 2008

• I would never go with BT broadband. I have had on-going trouble for 5 months. I cancelled my broadband, but continued to receive bills. The customer service was dreadful and I have spent hours on the phone trying to clear my account, but the bills keep arriving!!

  I am now with Orange and have had no problems... BT may be good when the system is up and running, but when you have a problem they are useless!!!! Be warned......!!!!

  CLAIRE , 31th July 2008

• I've been paying BT for their premium broadband package for the last 5/6 years, £25 monthly to connect at less than 3MB. I switched from BT to Sky yesterday. Morning speedtest = 2.9 with BT - afternoon speedtest - 6.1MB with Sky.

  Using the same phone line... At the same distance away from the exchange... Even when using BT's micro filters on the line - I called BT to ask why the speeds were so different even though it's coming through the same line.

  Their reply? - I'm no longer a BT broadband customer so there isn't anything they can do for me. I'm so glad I changed - BT are not only capping their speeds but their customer service is dreadful!

  Sonya, 20th June 2008

• I'm the only person in my family who has BT Broadband and boy am I glad I do. All I ever hear from my inlaws and parents are the problems they're having with their providers; a couple of them are on their second and third broadband providers.

  I have nothing but praise for BT Broadband. I have taken up most of their offers over time. My digital TV is done through BT Vision and I have little to no problems with the on demand service, my home phone is done through my wireless hub (I've even gone as far as signing up for the new BT Anywhere with the Smartphone). I recomend BT quite often to my friends and family, however it always seems to come down to money and a lot of my friends they think BT is too dear... Well when you get a loyalty discount that builds up EVERY year it doesn't seem that dear to me.

  Good connection and pretty decent speeds 5-8 Mb but usually 7Mb. I can use my console lag-free whilst we are also using the PC, Internet phone and using the on demand service with onVision. Great Service!!!

  Neil Kitchener (Castleford exchange), 28th May 2008

• I am typing this from my dad's PC in Tewkesbury because in the evenings (7 - 10.30pm) my wireless BT broadband hub just doesn't work. It says "connecting to e.g BBC.Co .UK" and just sits there for minutes until it bombs out. Same with Google - it takes minutes to get to type a query and then no way can I get any answers.

  Very disappointing so far. They need to turn up the power a bit (in layman's terms).

  BT must get this nonsense sorted out - it's as if they've got Homer Simpson sitting somewhere twiddling the control nobs cutting the broadband off or just faffing about.

  Rating - minimum of 1 star.

  Robert Jackson (Edgbaston exchange), 09th April 2008

• Speeds are awful, my email connection keeps failing and I have to resort to BT's Broadband health check to get things up and running again. I have NEVER spoken to anyone that I can understand. I find the telephone system at BT totally useless - I have spent hours trying to get through to a human, with no success.

  peter Anderson-Edward (Hindhead exchange), 07th April 2008

• The broadband is great but only when you get what you pay for. Why is it that my signal strength is always low, when my next door neighbour's signal strength is always high?

  I'm paying what seems a lot of money per month and not getting the speeds I was expecting. At the time of typing this review the speed was 54.0Mbps and the signal was low...?

  Ron Manley (Llangranog exchange), 27th March 2008

• BT broadband is fine when the connection is up. Despite living 3 minutes walk away from the local exchange, I never get beyond 1Mb speeds but I can live with this. What I object to is paying £70 per quarter to spend 1 hour on the phone trying to understand extremely obnoxious and obviously incompetent call centre operators.

  BT must be making a fortune out of the poor souls like me who have signed up to them. It's ironic that this company outsources their call centres, taking away jobs from people in the very country they named themselves after. If British call centre operatives spoke to their customers the way I have been spoken to today they would be dismissed. I am still without broadband, having given up on their 'support' (still waiting for the call promised by the second operative 2 hours ago) and will be escaping from my contract as soon as it's up.

  1 star given reluctantly because i am forced to.

  Kerry (Hunmanby exchange), 22th March 2008

• I have been with BT option 3 for 20 months now. I have never recieved 8MB. Everyone else is cheaper and faster.

  John Harding (Aberkenfig exchange), 13th March 2008

• Informative and straightforward.

  lesrussell (Blandford exchange), 09th March 2008

• I would merely like the service I am paying for... Customer service is appalling. My HubPhone does not take calls for days, this is very inconvenient, technical support just racks up my bills to no avail.

  Internet access is sporadic and slow. I am very disappointed and would not sign to BT again. I would advise all BT customers to consult the Misrepresentation and the Supply of Goods and Services Acts.

  Perhaps public action might spur a response!

  Gilliane, 08th February 2008

• I am now in my second year of BT broadband. The first was fine, but now it is totally unacceptable, constantly dropping out. I have been trying sort it out with BT, but have made no progress whatever, and it is now worse than ever. The customer service is appalling, I'm going elsewhere, probably Virgin Media.

  Mr K Howlett (Chapel Brampton exchange), 07th February 2008

• BT are fantastic, with their innovative wireless Home Hub I can sit in the Oval watching cricket accessing my email whilst my boss thinks I'm at work. Super/great/fab/ service from BT.

  Chris (Brixton exchange), 05th February 2008

• I've had BT for over 2 years now it was great the first year, but now it is totally unacceptable. I can't wait until my contract ends. I have option three and it has a download speed of 130kbs. I think I'm going to change to Virgin Media.

  Mrs A Smith, 20th January 2008

• We have been with BT Broadband for 3 years now and the service just keeps getting better! Recently we said we would move and they gave us 12 months option 3 for £19.99 a month saving £5.00 per month.

  Also the BT Vision is great. As for customer service it's a whole lot better than TALK TALK...BEEN THERE.. DONE THAT... NEVER AGAIN... AND THAT'S A PROMISE!!!!!!

  Lee James (Llantwit Major exchange), 18th January 2008

• My BT broadband is as slow as the dial-up.

  I have been a loyal BT customer for over 60 years and don't want to move, but, maybe l should cancel and go to someone else.

  Mr W. Weldom (Stourbridge exchange), 17th January 2008

• I am on option 3, which is supposed to be the best, at times it's slower than dial up. Can't wait for my contract to end.

  a.n.thomas (Skewen exchange), 16th January 2008

• BT is over-expensive and over-rated.

  Their customer services is the worst that I have ever dealt with.

  I am looking at others at the moment- and will possibly will join AOL.

  They seem to get good reviews.

  Forced to add a star!!!

  joe Hart, 06th January 2008

• I have been a very happy BT customer for 6 months now. BT Vision is fantastic as is the HomeHub. Very happy indeed. Good work BT!

  Greg Ore, 04th January 2008

• I was promised a free VBOX when I renewed Option 2 with BT broadband in December. The free gift never arrived. I called and was told there was no such order under my account. I was transferred 3 times, and the last transfer ended after waiting 20+ munites on the line listening to boring music and regular announcement " your call will be answered asap...."

  Can I believe BT anymore?

  Quing Chen, 03rd January 2008

• BT has still has not mastered the art of simplicity. All their packages are over-complicated. Why not just offer a good telecoms package, including calls, line rental and broadband?

  I would also like it if they would quote a price which does not expire after a few months.

  p.procter, 02nd January 2008

• Much too long a saga to inflict on anyone, do yourselves justice, stay away from BT, for your own sanity. They don't deserve any stars, but I'm forced to put one.

  Stokes (Bridgend exchange), 02nd January 2008

• A terrible, terrible broadband experience. Our broadband is very temperamental, and has been for three years. The BT Helpdesk is awful, every complaint we send is ignored. I would strongly recommend avoiding BT at all costs. If you have a good experience, you are lucky... but BT will ignore any problems. The perfect example of a company being too big to give a damn.

  Ciaron (Warrenpoint exchange), 03rd December 2007

• I get 3MB and that is very fast. They do say up to 8MB, but that is up to (not actual). Every ISP quotes "up to", people need to accept it. BT Total Broadband is very, very good in my opinion.

  Pete Davies, 12th November 2007

• Having just checked my speed, I was shocked and disgusted to find that an advertised speed of upto 8Mb was only 670kbps. Disgraceful.

  Darren Stribling (Downhall exchange), 12th November 2007

• Fantastic service. Perfect broadband and excellent deals with phone calls. 100% happy customer Ignore the other comments.

  Gary Treece, 11th November 2007

• I have been with BT for about 4 years and all has been fine until about 10 days ago. I lost my broadband line although the telephone was working fine. This was the start of a 10 day nightmare dealing with the bt broadband help desk. To start with you are on a 0845 number so you are paying for the call and the lines are always busy with long delays over an hour at times. I could not get over to the call centre that it was the line that was down. I must have spent around 20 hours in a 10 day period with no success. After a week two engineers arrived checked the house connection and left saying that was all they could do. More hours to the call centre and another engineer three days later still no success with him. He reinstalled the router and then left. After several more hours I evetually got the line working with the help of someone who seemed to know what they were doing. Call centre staff very polite but mostly diffcult to understand especially when trying explain how to put data in. An absolute disaster.

  Ian Wilson (Parkstone exchange), 08th November 2007

• Had the homehub top package for a year. The broadband is fine but the hub phone dies after 5 minutes. I have called the helpline 10 times but it is still not fixed, and I rarely speak to anyone that I can understand.

  peter timbrell (Haddenham exchange), 07th November 2007

• I have had BT for years and never had a problem, they may not be quite as cheap as some other broadband providers, but I believe you get what you pay for!

  Jamie Peters, 26th October 2007

• BT are simply better than other broadband providers. Their new deals are great value. A VERY happy customer.

  Bradley Crease (Mortlake exchange), 25th October 2007

• If I had known just how slow these hubs were I would have gone somewhere else. It stops working all the time and I must have had to reset it a good 5 or 6 times a day. Then its not forced to work right..

  My advice is save your money.

  mr clucas (Birchwood exchange), 21th October 2007

• Great broadband. I have had no fuss for over 4 years now and it's great value too. Support is fine and the broadband fast. Stick with the old guard!

  JT Gray (Leeds exchange), 09th October 2007

• Software errors on BT Total Broadband Option 1 package - errors with browser, MCSSA window, computer freezing, will not shut down, 120+ error messages in a month. BT engineers had four attempts at fixing it and told me now that my computer needs the hard drive wiping because of their alterations. Appalling!

  steve woods (Campden exchange), 08th October 2007

• Not a very good service. Average time on hold can be up forty minutes. When you do get through they pass you on to someone else. It is a complete waste of time. Get your act together, before its to late.

  ALAN GRIFFITHS, 05th October 2007

• Unbelievable! I have spent endless time on the phone today about changing packages and still have not been able to speak to anyone who can help. In fact I am still hanging onto the phone after 20 mins this time around.

  My rating just reflects the service - not the actual broadband once up and running.

  Joyce Richards, 24th September 2007

• Equipment great once it is set up. However the customer service is terrible and the lack of call takers is frustrating. Expect to wait up to 1-2 hours for a call to be answered. Thinking of binning BT for a more customer focused service provider.

  Richie Horn, 23th September 2007

• BT Total is fantastic. Fast broadband, a funky Wireless Hub as part of the deal and good value calls. For everyone who isn't a massive downloader, BT Broadband Option 1 & 2 will cover nearly everyone's needs. I rate BT highly for service (I'm not sure these other reviews are a fair reflection at all!) Rich.

  Richard Sheasby (Solihull exchange), 11th September 2007

• I have been trying to get broadband from BT for over three years now. I am disabled and my local council have explained to bt that the line is not up to standard. My neighbours at both sides to me have the service, even in a portacabin used for renovation work in an old building next to me has it, so what is the problem with me? Victimization of the disabled i would call it. Is there any other explanation? HELEN. More than upset.

  Helen Paterson (Bathgate exchange), 31th August 2007

• Service is rubbish. I dont know anyone who would have the patience to hang on the line for the hours that it takes to get through and then still do not get any useful help.

  Rosemary Pearson (Sutton On Trent exchange), 23th August 2007

• Have just got BT Total for my son who's going back to school next month. It has loads of family-friendly features and doesn't cost the earth. For novices like us, it's great and the phone support is fine once you actually get through. I give it 4 stars.

  Jane Drew, 22th August 2007

• I'm on option 3 and I can go and make a cup of tea whilst I wait for some downloads! 2.5 MB tested. Much less for uploads

  HELLMAN (Pontrhydfendigaid exchange), 12th August 2007

• i ordered a phone of bt with broadband but the phone did not arrive with the hub. so i reordered the phone on wed and got promised a phone on friday. and guess what, it did not arrive.i was on the phone for 2hrs and still got nowhere.i will be canceling my contract with by as they did not keep their end of the contract

  ian parkin (Ecclesfield exchange), 10th August 2007

• I would love to come back to BT

  janet skoyles (Ashton In Makerfield exchange), 08th August 2007

• I've had no problems with BT. Have been with them for broadband for nearly 3 years now and its been hassle free, pretty cost efficient and fast. I don't like the news TV ads much though!

  Rob Parsons, 06th August 2007

• I must stress to you that BT's service is utterly appalling! The speed of BT's service is simply a joke! I can and will find an alternative provider who can provide a much faster service at a much cheaper rate. The days of ripping off customers are dwindling, do something positive BT before you lose all your loyal customers!!!

  Susan Purdie (Penrith exchange), 03rd August 2007

• BT is solid and reliable and offers a good first-year price. Also got my hands on the new Black HomeHub - a very nifty piece of kit!

  Steven (Sidmouth exchange), 03rd August 2007

• I've had BT Broadband since moving to my new flat - and it was by far the fastest installation i've had. No complaints about the line speed either, so I'm more than happy. Big name too, so you know they're not going to go out of business or get bought out in a few months!

  Dave Stein, 01st August 2007

• The unlimited download limit on option 3 is a real bonus - the package is great considering what you get although I'll see if this still works for me after the 6 months offer.

  So far it has been reliable which is great as I experienced real problems with my last service provider. I chat to my mates all the time over the internet and make lots of purchases so I'm pleased it hasn't let me down so far.

  Chris, 27th April 2007

• I found Option 1 was enough for what I needed and decided to use a BT home engineer to help me set up. So far everything seems to be going well and the customer service team have been very helpful even if I have had to ask them to repeat themselves a few times.

  I do find their website a little difficult to navigate though especially when trying to find telephone numbers and opening hours - they could make it a lot simpler for people like me. It was easy to get an email address set up and another one for my wife, which means I am well and truly in to the modern age!

  Michael, 15th April 2007