OPINION: BT taking the Mick with its new 'BT Plus' product

BT has pulled out the PR guns this week to launch its new ‘BT Plus’ product, describing it to journalists on Wednesday morning as “the UK’s first converged fibre and 4G plan that gives customers BT’s fastest speeds in and out of the home with a unique Keep Connected Promise.”

Despite the lack of commas, BT really is pushing this as an exciting, new and innovative must-have product. In an era where the FTSE 100 giant’s retail arm is struggling for relevance in a crowded marketplace, they need something big.

But dig a little deeper, and the product is little more than an insult to the consumer.

BT promises “the fastest fibre speeds possible” as part of the product, adding that customers could see speeds of up to 300 Mbps.

That would be a fast speed if a customer could get it, but what BT isn’t making obvious is those connections are only available to a very small proportion of British homes. Most people will only be able to get their ‘superfast’ fibre product, which isn’t really fibre, but rather a DSL product that uses the old copper phone lines to connect your house to a local cabinet.

BT’s other big selling point for BT Plus is that it includes a 4G mobile plan rolled into the bill - something many telecoms retailers have been doing for years.

They are touting the product as ideal for families, with their price examples sent to news outlets saying a ‘superfast’ connection - the type of copper connection most homes can get - along with four 10GB mobile SIMs as costing £95.79 per month.

But despite the smooth press release copy, that’s still not even close to the best deal available.

A customer could go out today and buy TalkTalk’s Faster Fibre Speed Boost product, delivered over the same lines and using the same technology as BT’s superfast product, for £30 per month.

They could then add four 6GB mobile connections with iD Mobile for £10 per month each if bought through uSwitch. Or if they really did want the full 10GB as offered by BT, it would set them back £12 per month with iD Mobile.

That makes BT’s deal £213.48 more expensive per year than buying the deals separately, or a whopping £309.48 pricier if you’re willing to take the 6GB iD SIMs instead of 10GB.

And for those lucky enough to have access to BT’s rare ‘Ultrafast 2’ speeds of 300Mbps, it still doesn’t make sense.

BT’s deal at that speed, again with four 10GB SIMs, would run £100.79 per month. But buying a comparable Vivid 350 connection through Virgin Media would cost £42 per month if bought today.

Add in the iD Mobile 10GB SIMs again at £12 per month, and BT is still £129.48 more expensive annually.

To be fair to BT, there are cases where its BT Plus product might make sense. If you are absolutely desperate to have 300 Mbps speeds, and you can’t get Virgin Media in your area, and you also require four 10GB SIMs in your household, then it’s worth consideration.

But despite the flash ‘BT Plus’ name and the slick PR touting it as a revolutionary product, for most Brits it doesn’t represent anything more than a £200-a-year premium for the benefit of having a single bill.

Whether that’s a price worth paying for only having the one direct debit each month is something the consumer will have to decide for themselves.

Josh White is a reporter for WebFG News and freelances as a technology correspondent.