BT To Go
May 14, 2008 at 12:46 pm
If you are the type of person who can’t bear to be without online access at all times, then you may be interested in the newly launched BT Total Broadband Anywhere package. Why waste time waiting for a bus or for the kids to emerge from school when you could be checking your emails, researching your holiday or booking theatre tickets?
For only £23.99 a month you could subscribe to the all-inclusive BT Total Broadband Anywhere package, which includes an internet-enabled Smartphone (the BT ToGo) which normally sells at around the £150 mark, plus BT’s Option 3 Total Broadband Service.
You have a choice of two phone models – the HTC S620 or the S710, both of which use Microsoft Windows Mobile 6. When you are near a WiFi hotspot (and you will have access to 82,000 in the UK alone and 190,000 overseas), the phone connects to the internet and also gives you cheap calls through BT Broadband Talk. If you are out of WiFi range, then you start eating into your monthly download allowance of 10MB and the free 50 min calls allowance plus 50 texts. The phone also includes a camera for taking photos or video clips.
The Option 3 service in your home includes a Home Hub and Hub Phone along with unlimited downloads at speeds of up to 8Mb/s.
John Petter of BT says that “communications services are converging” and that it is obvious that customers want access to the net not only in their homes but “in the palm of their hands wherever they are.”
For only £5 a month more than the standard Option 3 Broadband package, it seems that this new deal from BT will make a lot of people very happy.
For further information and answers to any questions that you may have, see here.
One in four of us pay the price for failing to read the small print
May 7, 2008 at 12:16 pm
It is never easy deciding which broadband package to choose with such a variety of options on offer. Some seem too good to be true, and that sadly is exactly what they are.
24% of us have, according to research carried out by moneysupermarket.com, discovered to our cost that we really ought to have taken the time to read the terms and conditions properly, rather than just skim through the contract as 25% of us do, or worse still fail to read it at all, as 8% of us confess to having done.
There are several additional costs which can pop up unexpectedly on your monthly bill if you are less savvy than you think you are. Providers have to make their money somehow and what better way than sneaking charges into the contract which you may think are included as standard.
For instance, if you choose not to pay your bill by direct debit, be prepared to fork out up to £5 a month for the privilege of having a paper bill sent to your address. Even if you have set up a direct debit there will be a charge if, for any reason, the payment fails, ranging from £7.50 to £25.
Just because you have no minimum contract period does not mean that you will not be penalised (by being charged £50 in some cases) if you cancel or move home within the first twelve months.
Also be prepared to pay a one-off fee for setting your broadband service up. This generally varies from £15 to £40. Having got everything up and running, you had better make sure that you do not go over your download limit, as this will incur a charge of up to £3 for every Gb over and above the cap.
Finally keep your fingers crossed that everything runs smoothly, because if you have the misfortune to have to call the designated helpline, this will cost you up to 50p per minute.
For advice on understanding the small print, have a look at moneysupermarket’s guide.
