BT Launches £5 4G Sim Only Deal

As expected BT has re-entered the mobile market this week, launching what it describes as the UK’s best value 4G mobile plan for its broadband customers.

BT Mobile 4G sim only deals

The 4G sim only ‘bring your own phone’ plans combine 4G on the EE network with unlimited access to more than 5 million BT WiFi hotspots. The best value deals are to be had by BT broadband customers, who get a £5 per month discount, and this applies to multiple members of the household not just the bill payer, with each account holder able to have up to five sim cards – a maximum of ten overall. By taking the cheapest deal, BT broadband customers can save 50% off their 4G mobile bill compared with non BT customers.

BT Mobile 4G price plans

The 12 month contracts available to BT customers include:

  • 500MB 4G data, unlimited WiFi, 200 voice minutes, and unlimited texts – £5 per month
  • 2GB 4G data, unlimited WiFi, 500 voice minutes, and unlimited texts – £12 per month
  • 20GB 4G data, unlimited WiFi, unlimited voice minutes, and unlimited texts – £20 per month

Non BT customers should add £5 for their monthly tariff. These deals include access to the BT Sport app which will enable them to watch live Premier League games on their mobile handset.

4G sim only price plans

For comparison let’s take a look at some of the other 4G sim only deals currently available:

  • EE’s cheapest sim only deal is £9.99 per month for 250MB 4G data, 250 voice minutes and unlimited texts. Its most expensive is £27.99 per month for 5GB 4G data and unlimited voice minutes and texts.
  • Vodafone’s cheapest sim only deal is £14 per month for 500MB 4G data, 900 voice minutes, and unlimited text messages. Its most expensive is currently £30 per month for 20GB 4G data and unlimited voice minutes and texts (a limited special offer).
  • O2’s cheapest sim only deal is £8.50 per month for 100MB 4G data, 100 voice minutes, and unlimited text messages. Its most expensive is £29 per month for 10GB 4G data, and unlimited voice minutes and texts.
  • Three’s cheapest sim only deal is £8 per month for 500MB 4G data, 200 voice minutes, and unlimited texts. Its most expensive is £27 per month for unlimited 4G data, and unlimited voice minutes and texts.

Three is the only of the four major 4G networks to offer a 4G sim only deal that is better value than the BT offers for non BT customers, but for those that already have broadband the ‘bring your own phone’ deals seem to be a very cheap way to take advantage of EE’s 4G network.

According to Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch.com, “After a long time away, BT is throwing its hat back in the mobile ring with an incredibly competitive set of SIMO tariffs – provided you’re an existing customer. In a time of hand-me-down smartphones, BT’s plans are perfectly poised to become a disruptive part of its consumer strategy – and that’s before the EE acquisition comes into the equation. Existing customers get a deal that plants BT firmly ahead of TalkTalk and Virgin from just £5 for 500MB of 4G data.”