• Now available on the Apple App store• BT customers can take advantage of the inclusive calls in their BT home calling plan using their iPhone, anywhere in the world, using any wi-fi or mobile data connection
BT customers in Northern Ireland could save money on their smartphone calls with BT’s new free SmartTalk app which launched today. It is the first app launched in the UK to link an iPhone with a customer’s home phone calling plan.
The app works best over wi-fi, but will also work over any mobile data connection. It allows BT customers to make phone calls whether in Northern Ireland, GB or abroad , which are billed as if they were calling from their BT home phone. BT broadband customers have the added advantage of access to more than 7.5 million hotspots worldwide for free.
Using the app, customers could save money in a number of ways:• When travelling abroad, BT customers can use BT SmartTalk to phone home for the price ofa UK call , which may be included in their BT package.• When travelling to the Republic of Ireland, BT customers can use BT SmartTalk to phone home for the price of a UK call[ii], which may be included in their BT package.• BT customers can make inclusive calls, using their home calling plan, to UK and Ireland landlines, 0800, 0845 and 0870 numbers on their smartphone.• Pay as you go (PAYG) smartphone customers can also make savings on their calls to mobiles as BT’s landline rates are cheaper than standard PAYG tariffs, or continue to use their smartphone to make calls when they are running out of credit.
For example, customers on BT’s Unlimited Anytime Plus Plan will be able to make 24/7 calls to any UK and Ireland landline number or 0845 number at no extra cost, whilst enjoying calls to mobiles from as little as 2.65 pence per minute - a fraction of the standard rates typically charged by mobile pay as you go tariffs.
Conal Duffy, consumer director , BT, said: “This is a really exciting breakthrough that means you can take your BT calling plan with you and continue saving money when you’re away from home, either in Ireland, GB or abroad. BT SmartTalk helps you get even more value from your BT package and much more from your smartphone. At last you can actually call freephone 0800 numbers for free from mobiles and get inclusive 0845 and 0870 calls too. And of course, you can take advantage of BT Wi-fi which gives you access to a massive network of 7.5 million hotspots around the world.”
BT SmartTalk calls can be made to anyone, anywhere, at any time and the app supports up to five users on one calling plan. Customers will not be charged for making calls that are included as part of their home calling plan. They could even save when calling outside of their plan as BT’s standard landline rates will apply, instead of mobile rates that can often be more expensive.
The BT SmartTalk App is now available free from the App Store on iPhone or at www.itunes.com/appstore.
Enquiries about this news release should be made to:
Images of the BT SmartTalk app are available on request.
Notes to editors
Savings examples:
• A couple are on honeymoon in Thailand. Two quick five minute calls to their respective parents’ home phones using their O2 PAYG mobile standard rate would cost a total of £9.90. Using BT SmartTalk when logged on to wi-fi, on an Unlimited Anytime Plan Plus, those same phone calls would have been included in their home calling plan.
• A group of three friends move into their new house and need to call each of their utility suppliers on three 0845 numbers. On Orange’s PAYG standard rate, each 20 minute call would cost them £7.20. But using BT SmartTalk, the same calls would have been included in their home calling plan.
• A BT customer’s teenage daughter calls her best friend’s mobile phone in the evening for an hour when her GCSE results come in. On an Orange PAYG standard rate, this 60 minute call would cost £15.00. Using BT SmartTalk on an Unlimited Anytime Plan Plus, the same call would cost £1.72.
NB Savings exclude mobile provider’s inclusive minutes or bolt-ons.
BT Calling PlansCost per monthUnlimited Weekend £0 Includes calls between midnight Fri & midnight SunUnlimited Evening & Weekend £3.30 Inclusive calls between 7pm-7am Mon to Fri & all weekendUnlimited Anytime £5.15 Inclusive calls at any timeUnlimited Anytime Plan Plus £8 Inclusive landline calls at any time plus half our standard pence-per-minute rates to UK mobilesInclusive calls means calls of up to an hour to UK and Ireland landlines including numbers beginning 01, 02, 03, 0845, 0870, and excluding Channel Islands.
Cost of calls outside calling plans
UK landlineDaytime(7am – 7pm Mon to Fri) Evenings(7pm to 7am Mon to Fri) Weekends(Midnight Fri to midnight Sun)8.41p/min 1.11p/min 0p extraWhen making a chargeable call, a 13.87p set up fee applies.
Calls to UK mobile phonesPence-per-minute rate (Daytime) Pence-per-minute rate (Evening)Unlimited Anytime Plan Plus 5.65p/min 2.65p/minUnlimited Anytime PlanUnlimited Evening & Weekend PlanUnlimited Weekend Plan 11.3p/min 5.3p/minA 13.87p call set-up fee applies.
About BT
BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in more than 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, BT Retail, BT Wholesale and Openreach.
In the year ended 31 March 2012, BT Group’s revenue was £18,897m with profit before taxation of £2,445m.
British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.
For more information, visit www.btplc.com
£15.45/month BT line rental and monthly home calling plan payable. Customers need an iPhone / Android Smartphone connected to Wi-Fi or 3G. UK time zone applies. Opt-in for International, Premium (09) and Personal (070) calls. Fair Use policy applies. Excludes BT Basic. See www.bt.com/btfon.
UK 01, 02 & 03 calls. 0845 & 0870 max 1,000 minutes/150 calls a month or charges apply. Redial after 60 minutes. Exclusions apply.
[ii] UK 01, 02 & 03 calls. 0845 & 0870 max 1,000 minutes/150 calls a month or charges apply. Redial after 60 minutes. Exclusions apply.
Calls to 0871 cost a maximum of 10.2p per minute plus 13.87p set-up fee; calls to 070 cost no more than 51p per minute, with a maximum set-up charge of 51p (see www.bt.com/personal/pricing for our full tariffs).
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