bbb_uk wrote on Feb 9^th, 2011 at 6:17pm:


In which case my post regarding NGN's over on the Ofcom Consultation page is even MORE valid,

If more and more users switch to Mobiles to avoid landline rental costs, they will end up paying higher costs to call 084/087 numbers!

Dave wrote on Feb 9^th, 2011 at 7:19pm:
I see how this may be true but this doesn't excuse landline providers from actually increasing all their costs so much that it may force those that can get away with just using mobile to ditch the landline altogether and use mobile.

For those that wish to have broadband and don't live in a VirginMedia area are forced to get a landline which I personally believe is unfair.  Landline providers obviously use this to their advantage.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12800177      


20 March 2011 Last updated at 16:06


BT to increase call charges by 9%

Telecoms giant BT has said it will raise call charges by 9% and increase its monthly standard line rental charge by 30 pence from 28 April.

The cost of UK landline calls will go up from 7p a minute to 7.6p a minute.

Customers are being informed of the changes by letter, although some with specific packages will not be subject to the price increases.

BT increased its call charges by 10% and its line rental by 50p in October last year.

'Never welcome'

Customers on BT Basic or Line Rental Saver contracts will not have to pay the higher line rental charge, while those on BT Basic and the Light User Scheme will not be subject to higher call charges.

The company is also increasing the cost of its Call Minder service from £2.60 to £3 a month.

BT said the impact of the rise in call charges would be "minimal".

It added that it was happy to discuss plans with customers to save them money.

"Millions of people have signed up to our Unlimited Anytime Plan in the last year and 75% of UK landline calls on our network are now free," it said.

In the letter to customers, BT said it "appreciated that price rises are never welcome", and so was reducing the price of some products and services.

For example, it said, BT Vision would now cost £12.50 a month.

There reasons why you should stay withy them  .

"Why should I stay with BT if you keep on increasing prices?

There are many reasons why you should stay with BT. If you sign up to our Line Rental Saver you will pay cheaper line rental than Virgin and Talk Talk. By signing up to the Unlimited Anytime Plan you can also avoid some of the price increases, plus we're reducing the price in April which means you're getting an even better deal. Our new price of £4.70 is the cheapest amongst our major competitors: Sky charge £5.00 a month, Talk Talk £6.21 a month and Virgin Media £8.00 a month.

We are always looking for ways to give you more value - for example we were the first company to offer inclusive calls to 0845 and 0870 numbers, and our Friends & Family discount schemes offer discounts of over 46% on mobile calls and up to 88% on international calls compared to BT standard rates. You are very unlikely to find better rates with our competitors.

And did you know we were the first company to give you free weekend calls? You can also get free voicemail with BT 1571 and can record a free personal greeting as well. You also get free caller identification with 1471, free calls to customer service and you can manage your account online at www.bt.com/mybt - for free!

We care about what you think, so we listen to your concerns and feedback, that's why we're including more free calls and more great discounts in our plans. We are confident that you are getting excellent value for money. "


http://www.calls.bt.com/pricechanges/?s_intcid=con_intban_YA_PCYA_Price

Heinz wrote on Mar 21^st, 2011 at 8:33pm:


I was put right off joining 18185 when I read the following in its Terms and Conditions:

Use of Personal Information
Information you provide or we hold about you may be used by us and/or our partners to
i. contact you by any means (including mail, telephone, email or text messages) about improved or any other services and products, provided by us, or our partners, now or in the near future;
ii. carry out marketing analysis and customer profiling and create statistical and testing information;
iii. help us to prevent and detect fraud or loss.

We may disclose information we hold about you to third parties for the purpose of providing services you have requested, as part of the process of sale of one or more of our businesses, or where legitimately requested for legal or regulatory purposes, as part of legal proceedings or prospective legal proceedings. From time to time, these third parties may be located outside the EEA in countries which do not have the same standards of protection for personal data as the UK.

If you provide false or inaccurate information and we suspect fraud, we will record this. We, and other credit organisations, may use technology to detect and prevent fraud.

And their Privacy Policy states:

We do not sell, rent, loan, trade, lease or otherwise transfer any personal information collected through our software or service to any third party outside our network.

Information you provide or we hold about you may be used by us to contact you by any means (including mail, telephone, email or text messages) about improved or any other services and products, provided by us, now or in the near future.

[The underlined parts are my emphasis.]

In other words, only join them if you don't mind being spammed via phone, post or email - by 18185 and its network partners - apparently with no opportunity to opt out or even dodge some of it by giving a fake postal or email address. Even if Heinz and others have never received any such communications since joining 18185, I'm still not prepared to take the risk. The sayings "There's no such thing as a free dinner" and "There's always a catch" spring to mind!

Everybody moans about BT but............


http://news.sky.com/skynews/Article/201009115990327


BT Snaps Up New Customer Every 30 Seconds

   

10:44am UK, Thursday May 12, 2011

BT Group has posted a big rise in profits, mainly thanks to its roll out of 'super-fast' broadband services which picks up a new customer every 30 seconds.

BT posted a big rise in profits

BT has added 144,000 customers to its super-fast broadband service

The telecommunications provider made £1.7bn in reported pre-tax profits in the year to March 31 - up 71% on the year before.

Revenues fell 3% but savings of £1.1bn were made.

The success is partly due to BT's roll-out of broadband services; it added 1.1m homes to its network over the year, the equivalent of a new connection every 30 seconds.

BT's Global Services division saw its orders up 10% at £7.3bn and it also turned cash-flow positive a year ahead of plan.


BT has halved down its pension deficit to £3.2bn

In the three months to March 31, revenue fell 6% to £5bn though pre-tax profit rose 21% to £610m.

BT has made big strides in tackling a major concern for investors and staff alike: the size of the group's pension deficit.

Last year, it announced a 17-year scheme to fund its £9bn deficit but said at the time that the pensions regulator had "substantial concerns."

The services provider has now halved it down to £3.2bn, and a review into its deficit repayment scheme by the pension regulator has been put on hold.