BT Mobile

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British mobile virtual network operator

title: "BT Mobile" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mobile-virtual-network-operators", "bt-group"] description: "British mobile virtual network operator" topic_path: "general/mobile-virtual-network-operators" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BT_Mobile" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary British mobile virtual network operator ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

FieldValue
nameBT Mobile
logoBT logo 2019.svg
logo_size175px
typeMVNO
foundationMarch 2015
locationBT Centre
London,
United Kingdom
area_servedUnited Kingdom
industryTelecommunications
servicesMobile telephony
ownerBT Group
homepagewww.bt.com/products/mobile
::

| name = BT Mobile | logo = BT logo 2019.svg | logo_size = 175px | type = MVNO | caption = | foundation = March 2015 | location = BT Centre London, United Kingdom | area_served = United Kingdom | key_people = | industry = Telecommunications | products = | services = Mobile telephony | num_employees = | owner = BT Group | parent = | homepage = www.bt.com/products/mobile

BT Mobile was a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) provided by BT Consumer; a division of BT Group in the United Kingdom that was launched in March 2015. It uses the EE network via an MVNO agreement signed in March 2014 as well as using the spectrum BT won in the 2013 4G auction. EE is now owned by BT following a successful acquisition that was officially completed on 29 January 2016. BT Mobile operates alongside BT Business Mobile which is provided by the BT Business and Public Sector division. BT Mobile launched as a SIM-only service and had more than 400,000 customers . BT Mobile stopped accepting new customers in October 2023, as part of plans by the BT Group to make EE the main brand of the consumer business.

Products

SIM-only plans

BT Mobile is a fully fledged mobile service with handsets and sim only offers four 12-month contract plans as of 7 November 2020:

  1. BT Mobile 500MB Plan – 500MB of data, 500 minutes and unlimited texts
  2. BT Mobile 10GB Plan – 10GB of data, 1000 minutes and unlimited texts
  3. BT Mobile 16GB Plan – 16GB of data, unlimited minutes and texts
  4. BT Mobile 20GB Plan – 20GB of data, unlimited minutes and texts
  5. BT Mobile 30GB Plan – 30GB of data, unlimited minutes and texts
  6. BT Mobile 100GB – 100GB of data, unlimited minutes and texts Anyone living in a BT 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.

Features

TNT Sports

Main article: TNT Sports (United Kingdom)

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.

BT Wi-Fi

Main article: BT Wi-fi

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.

BT Mobile App

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.

Services

Network

BT Mobile offers 4G 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 the 3G and 2G networks.

Coverage

As BT Mobile uses the EE network, its 4G network reaches more than 95% of the UK population while its 3G network reaches 98% and 2G network reaches 99%, .

Extra Speed 4G

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.

Wi-Fi calling

BT introduced Wi-Fi Calling on 29 March 2018, which allows customers to use Wi-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 any Apple handset from iPhone 5S onwards and certain Android 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, minimum iOS 11.3 or later for Apple handsets.

4G calling

BT introduced 4G calling (VoLTE) on 29 March 2018, which allows customers to make calls over 4G and can continue to use 4G data as they talk. It works on any Apple handset from iPhone 6 onwards and certain Android 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 of iOS 11.3 or later for Apple handsets.

Voicemail

BT Mobile automatically diverts all unanswered calls to voicemail. Customers will receive a text from BT when a voicemail is left. It uses the same voicemail code (1571) as BT's fixed lines.

Parental controls

BT Mobile offers free parental controls to limit what a user can access via the internet such as blocking inappropriate content.

Brand transition to EE

In April 2022, BT Group announced plans to turn the EE 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.

References

References

  1. (25 March 2015). "BT launches UK's best value 4G mobile data deal as a reward for its BT broadband customers". BT Group PLC.
  2. (25 March 2015). "BT returns to mobile phone market". BBC News.
  3. (25 March 2014). "BT and EE confirm UK MVNO agreement". BT Group PLC.
  4. (25 March 2015). "BT returns to mobile phone market". BBC News.
  5. (20 February 2013). "Ofcom announces winners of the 4G mobile auction.". Ofcom.
  6. (29 January 2016). "BT Group PLC Completion of the acquisition of EE Limited". 4-traders.
  7. "EE is now part of BT". EE Limited.
  8. (5 May 2016). "BT full year revenue climbs to £18.91bn on back of EE acquisition". International Business Times.
  9. (18 October 2023). "EE Becomes BT's Main UK Broadband Brand". ispreview.co.uk.
  10. "Am I eligible for the BT Broadband discount?".
  11. "How many BT Mobile plans can I order?".
  12. "What's 4G and can I get it?".
  13. (12 February 2016). "EE results for the year ended 31 December 2015".
  14. (12 February 2016). "EE grows 4G network to 14m as it prepares for shake-up under BT". The Telegraph.
  15. (3 February 2016). "Extra Speed 4G: Discover how BT Mobile's new Add-on can make your phone up to twice as fast.". BT.
  16. (September 2023). "Will I always get speeds of 60Mbps?".
  17. "Wi-Fi Calling with BT Mobile".
  18. (September 2023). "Learn about Wi-Fi Calling and how to set it up".
  19. (28 March 2018). "BT introduces WiFi and 4G calling for all mobile customers". Cable.co.uk.
  20. (28 March 2018). "BT Mobile adds 4G and Wi–Fi calling". uSwitch.
  21. (4 April 2018). "Wi-Fi and 4G calls just arrived on BT Mobile". TechRadar.
  22. "4G Calling with BT Mobile".
  23. (September 2023). "Learn about 4G Calling".
  24. (September 2023). "BT Mobile - How do I set up voicemail?".
  25. "Can I set up BT Mobile Parental Controls?".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

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