 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2026) |
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| Company type | MVNO |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | March 2015 |
| Headquarters | BT Centre London,EC1 United Kingdom |
Area served | United Kingdom |
| Services | Mobile telephony |
| Owner | BT Group |
| Website | www.bt.com/products/mobile |
BT Mobile was amobile virtual network operator (MVNO) provided byBT Consumer; a division ofBT Group in theUnited Kingdom that was launched in March 2015.[1] It uses theEE network[2] via an MVNO agreement signed in March 2014[3] as well as using the spectrum BT won in the 2013 4G auction.[4][5] EE is now owned by BT following a successful acquisition that was officially completed on 29 January 2016.[6][7] BT Mobile operates alongsideBT Business Mobile which is provided by theBT Business and Public Sector division. BT Mobile launched as a SIM-only service and had more than 400,000 customers as of 5 May 2016[update].[8] BT Mobile stopped accepting new customers in October 2023, as part of plans by theBT Group to makeEE the main brand of the consumer business.[9]
BT Mobile is a fully fledged mobile service with handsets and sim only offers four 12-month contract plans as of 7 November 2020:
Anyone living in aBT Broadband home is eligible for a £5 monthly discount on all BT Mobile plans - each account holder can have up to five discounted plans but there's no limit to the number of people in a house that can take up the offer.[10][11]
Subscribers to BT Mobile can watch TNT Sports through the dedicated mobile streaming app. However, watching BT Sport via television still requires a paid subscription.
Subscribers to BT Mobile have unlimited access to BT Wi-Fi, regardless of the data allowance in their contracts. Connection to BT Wi-Fi can be made through a web browser or the dedicated BT Wi-Fi application.
The BT Mobile app allows subscribers to keep on top of their contract allowance, allowing them to see their minutes, texts and remaining data allowance. The app also shows out-of-contract spending, details of the subscribers' contract and information on data roaming.
BT Mobile offers4G as standard to all customers at no extra cost and in order to benefit from 4G speeds, a 4G-ready phone is required. However, customers in areas with no 4G coverage or without a 4G-ready phone will still be able to connect via the3G and2G networks.[12]
As BT Mobile uses theEE network, its4G network reaches more than 95% of the UK population while its3G network reaches 98% and2G network reaches 99%, as of 2016[update].[13][14]
On 3 February 2016, BT announced a new add-on service called Extra Speed 4G for BT Mobile customers, allowing them to access even faster upload and download speeds than standard 4G, provided they are in an Extra Speed 4G area. The speeds can reach a maximum of up to 60 Mbit/s and the service costs £4 a month and is a 30-day rolling contract, which means customers won't be tied in for 12 months. The speed will vary on a day-to-day basis and depends on various things such as coverage, distance from the mast, the number of people using the network and the type of 4G phone you have, as well as whether you're indoors or in a densely populated area.[15][16]
BT introducedWi-Fi Calling on 29 March 2018, which allows customers to useWi-Fi to call and text in areas with poor or no signal, and will come out of their monthly minutes and texts allowance or at the normal network rate, with no extra charge. It works on anyApple handset fromiPhone 5S onwards and certainAndroid handsets bought from BT Mobile. For existing customers, BT's 'My BT' and BT Mobile app offer the ability to check phone compatibility. The phone's software must be updated to take benefit of the service, minimumiOS 11.3 or later for Apple handsets.[17][18][19][20][21]
BT introduced 4G calling (VoLTE) on 29 March 2018, which allows customers to make calls over4G and can continue to use 4G data as they talk. It works on anyApple handset fromiPhone 6 onwards and certainAndroid handsets bought from BT Mobile. For existing customers, BT's 'My BT' and BT Mobile app offer the ability to check phone compatibility. The phone's software must be updated to take benefit of the service, with a minimum ofiOS 11.3 or later for Apple handsets.[22][23][19][20][21]
BT Mobile automatically diverts all unanswered calls tovoicemail. Customers will receive a text from BT when a voicemail is left. It uses the same voicemail code (1571) as BT's fixed lines.[24]
BT Mobile offers freeparental controls to limit what a user can access via the internet such as blocking inappropriate content.[25]
In April 2022,BT Group announced plans to turn theEE brand which BT acquired in January 2016, into their main “flagship brand” for their consumer Business. As part of this plan, BT mobile stopped accepting new customers in October 2023, with BT mobile products gradually being withdrawn over this period. Existing customers must transfer to EE to start a new contract, but active customers outside of contract remain on the BT mobile brand at time of writing. The brand will remain operational for business customers.[9]
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