BT has launched the UK's newest consumer mobile network, offering 4G data, free BT Sport and heavy discounts for its broadband subscribers.
The announcement precedes the completion of BT's already-announced, but yet to be ratified £12.5bn purchase of mobile operator <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/ee" target="_blank">EE</a>, currently owned by Orange and Deutsche Telekom.
BT Mobile will initially offer <a href="http://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/phones-tablets/bt-launches-the-uks-best-value-4g-mobile-plan-for-bt-broadband-customers-11363970677916"
target="_blank">three 12-month, SIM-only plans</a> with a focus on providing value for customers prepared to sign up for TV, broadband and mobile coverage from the same supplier. Anyone can sign up for the service, but BT said its 7.6 million broadband subscribers can expect discounts of up to 50 percent on mobile contracts, with up to five plans allowed per household.
The plans will also include Wi-Fi access from BT's five million UK hotspots, free BT Sport access via the mobile app, and spending caps on all tariffs to protect against "bill shock". They <a href="http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/4g-sim-only-plans/nonbb.html"
target="_blank">range from</a> a 500 MB, 200 minutes 4G bundle costing £5 a month (£10 for non-broadband subscribers), a mid-range 2 GB data, 500 minutes deal (£12/£17 a month) and a 20 GB, unlimited minutes package for £20/£25.
All of the deals require customers to own an existing handset, though BT is happy to sell you one via the BT Shop with discount vouchers to soften the blow.
The launch is BT's first major attempt to win back consumer mobile subscribers since it <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b0bf4e14-b5c4-11e3-a1bd-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3VO3gWAVg"
target="_blank">spun off its previous mobile business</a>, O2, then called Cellnet, in 2002. It relaunched BT Mobile <a href="http://www.btplc.com/News/Articles/ShowArticle.cfm?ArticleID=D4CF5838-C8C2-4374-BAB7-4F8A9FC4C183/"
target="_blank">for business subscribers</a> in 2014, and is now fixed on offering bundles of mobile, landline, broadband and TV content to match that of rivals Virgin Media and Sky. John Petter, chief executive of BT Consumer, said in a statement that the deals were "a great way to start our journey towards re-establishing ourselves as a major player in consumer mobile".
The launch comes as the UK's mobile networks continue to consolidate: Spain's Telefonica said on Tuesday 24 March that it had agreed a £10.25 billion deal to sell O2 to Hutchison Whampoa, which also owns Three. BT's deal to buy EE is expected to be completed by March 2016, following approval by shareholders and regulators.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
