BT Total Broadband Review
NOTE: This article was written back in 2006 and was a reflection of my experience at the time. I am no longer with BT, so I don't know whether my review is still valid. There are a few comments below from other visitors that will help you get the full picture.
It seems that BT have really got their act together with their new Total Broadband packages. Whereas the UK market is leaning towards bundled, low-cost or even free broadband, BT seem to be heading in the other direction. They clearly subscribe to the old adage that you get what you pay for. This is certainly true of broadband. I have many clients who have tied themselves into shoddy cheap or free broadband packages that just don’t work, or have appalling levels of support. The BT Total Broadband package stands head and shoulders above the Talk Talks of this world!
Previously, I was never a fan of BT Broadband - I even used to advise my clients against it, but when I moved house recently I ditched my reliable Allcomm connection and went with the BT Total Broadband Option 3. Why? Well I heard good things about the package and I have a lot of respect for a company that has so much faith in its products that it does not feel the need to get embroiled in a price war. BT’s message is simple: our broadband package is much better than the competition and that’s why you pay a little more. Personally, I’m perfectly happy with the price.
So how is it?
Well the broadband was switched on the day that BT said it would be and has been running perfectly ever since. The speed is incredible and I haven’t noticed any slowdown even during peak periods. I have my XBox 360 connected and the online gaming is absolutely perfect.
The equipment arrived on the day BT said it would, although there was a 2-3 month delay on the VoIP phone component, but by way of apology BT sent a completely free Studio DECT phone. I didn’t need the DECT, and gave it away, but it’s the gesture that counts and I think that was good customer service. The Home Hub itself is a little bit light and plasticy, particularly when compared with Apple Mac equipment that it clearly borrows its design inspiration from, but it looks good and the software is excellent. It did actually take me a little while to get into the advanced networking settings, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. The Home Hub is designed to be simple, so that all you need to do is switch it on and you’re connected. The wireless network is pre-configured and the access point ID and WEP key are printed on a sticker on the bottom of the hub, so even a complete novice can have a secure wireless network up in moments. If you want to dig deeper, you can configure the unit exactly as you want it, changing IP addresses, wireless setup, keys etc. Great!
The documentation is clear and well presented, and the software with the simple setup application to allow you to type in your username and password, works on both PC and Apple Mac.
There are 3 options and plenty of special offers - just click on the banner below if you’re interested. It’s the best broadband package I’ve ever had, and I’ve been exposed to pretty much all of the UK companies at one point or another. Lead time is 5-10 working days and you can pay on your BT bill so no need for an additional direct debit, or credit card.
Well done BT!
I am thinking of getting BT Broadband. I currently have virgin dial up. I was going to go for Virgin Broadband but have read some bad reviews - and you seem so pleased with BT Broadband.
Would you go for BT over Virgin? Would I be able to keep my Virgin email address - I use it for business? You said on BT you can change your IP address?
Thanks
I can’t quote on Virgin Broadband as I’ve never used it. BT is excellent. The only problem I had was getting my XBox Live working, but once I figured out how to set up the Home Hub it works fine.
I still haven’t received my IP phone though.
You should be able to access your incoming Virgin POP mail, but you will have to change your outgoing server settings on that mail account to BT. You may find that Virgin will disable accounts if you don’t dial up with them occasionally.
BT don’t do fixed IPs, but you can use a free service such as DynDNS to get around that.
I am currently on Tiscali dial-up which has been reliable. I would love to “go broadband” but hear so many good and bad things about BT, and others I am just totally confused!! I have read review suntil I am blue in the face.
I have even considered Business BT broadband, as I would assume it is better. Have you any experience of this product/service?
Shoud I give BT a shot?
Yours
Perplexed!
Hia, I have been with BT Total Broadband now for about 2 weeks in which I have encountered a number of problems so far. Firstly the equipment did arrive by courier on the date given by BT, but the activation didnt happen on the arrange date (3 days later).
Secondly, my Broadband is poor in which Im only getting around 300Kbps, to which I have been constantly on the phone to the Technical helpline. Just seem to be past from pillar to post and Im pretty fed up with it.
I hope its just a case that I hope it does increase and I Just wanted to add that its great that the Technical helpline is free, but it is really difficult to understand the people there, as per usual the call centre is probably abroad.
After been with telewest cable broadband suddenly Mr Branson took over and turned us to his virgin empire which is taking over the world at the moment then my phone bills got higher my broadband got worse so it was time for a change so went for the BT broadband package three with this smart slinky black hub well the hub arrived and I was ready to go well I thought so I was all connected waited for about two hours nothing ok customer support here I come after about 30 minutes I got through well to bangeldeshi telecome what hell after trying to understand what the earth they was saying and been put throught to many advisors I got a answer I have not been activated yet ok I
I think I should point out that BT do clearly state that they ship the equipment to arrive on the day your broadband is activated, but that your broadband may not necessarily be activated by the time the equipment arrives.
Mine arrived at 9.30 and my broadband came on just after lunch.
Hi
I’m looking at setting up a forum. I’m aware i need ahosting package that supports PHP and mySQL. I’m currently tied in with BT and wondered if their web service could be used to run the forum?
Ashley,
I think you would be better looking at 1&1. www.1and1.co.uk
Web hosting that is included with broadband packages, generally won’t have scripting and database features, nor will it be suitable for business use.
Regards,
David
I upgraded to BT Total Broadband, or at least tried to. I got the hub when they said I would and since then have had nothing but hassle - I’ve phone the Indian call centre many times and even had an engineer out to the house - all to no avail - that damn orange broadband light won’t stop flashing. Total frustration.
Dear David,
I am interested to hear about your positive experience of BT Total Broadband as I am thinking of migrating from Orange and BT is near the top of my list of possibles. Do you by any chance know if I could set up the most simple of websites - with my own domain name, and e-mail address with it - using one of these home packages? It would contain some brief info only, definitely no e-commerce. I ask because I am wavering between the Home and Business packages that BT offer, and am getting conflicting answers depending on who I speak to. In many ways the home package would suit me better (free Norton, inclusive phone calls), but I would like the domain name and I don’t think the home packages supply the fixed IP address that I believe I would need. Some BT people say it would be fine. Others say out of the question! Will I fall between Home and Business and find myself in no man’s land?
Any thoughts?
Many thanks,
Carolyn
Carolyn,
It’s been a while since I wrote that post, and I’m actually now with Tiscali, who have been great and very cheap.
I think I can answer this one for you though as a web designer. Don’t use free hosting tied to your ISP. You probably can’t have a domain name with the home account, so you will end up with a very poor domain name which will be hassle to move if you ever want to go elsewhere.
Domain names are cheap, and so is basic hosting. Keeping the connectivity separate from your hosting gives you more freedom to move ISP to get the best deal. Expect to pay about £7 per 2 years for a .co.uk domain name, and reasonable hosting can be had for £2 per month. Give 1&1 a try - www.1and1.co.uk.
I’ve renamed BT Total Broadband as “BT Total Disaster” It is the most appalling service I have every had from anyone. I ‘upgraded’ to it after almost 6 years of faultless service with the previous BT Broadband service. It was a complete disaster from day 1. No connection for over 2 weeks. My husband and I spent not hours, but complete days on the phone to BT’s appalling Indian callcentre. They were incapable of understanding us, or we them because many of them had such a poor grasp of English (my husband spends a great deal of time in India and even he had problems understanding them). They wouldn’t get off the script and seemed to have little grasp of technical issues. They constantly lied to us, and made promises that they didn’t keep. It simply took over our lives for the whole period. It turned out they had completely messed up domain name registration.
The service we got performed much worse than the previous one. It was slower and far less reliable, and 10 days ago it went down again. They have not been able to restore it. We had exactly the same appalling call centre service with many more lies and broken promises. They seem utterly incaple of sorting out the mess they have created. One of the UK help team (as rare as hen’s teeth) confirmed our fears - in india they’ve screwed up all the domain registrations yet again.
I would recommend that NO-ONE signs up for this dreaful service.
I never had a problem with BT although I moved to Tiscali a while back for cost reasons and because the Home Hub started doing very odd things thanks to BT’s overnight upgrades. BT would not accept there were any faults so I moved. Tiscali is definitely slower, but it is reliable and quick enough for everything I need.
We use BT Network Broadband at work, which is brilliant.
I guess that, as with all things, no company can get it right 100% of the time, and it looks like you are the unlucky one Pauline. Sorry to hear about your woes, but thanks for posting. It’s good to get a fair reflection of their service.