Tag: bt

No more locked smartphones!

Those with longer memories may remember this being quite a problem, but now we’re seeing more and more networks selling phones which are unlocked out of the box. Wait. What’s a locked phone anyways? Well, back in the day – and as a way to keep you tied …

Huawei 5G – It can’t be ripped out easily

Until now, the UK government have decided to allow Huawei to play a role in the 5G deployment here in the UK. Despite US concerns, the UK allowed Huawei to be used in “non-core” kit. However, GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre has delivered new findings into Huawei and …

BT Sport – Now you can pause your subscription…for a bit.

We earlier stated that BT Sport and Sky Sports wouldn’t let you pause your subscription despite the distinct lack of sports right now. The reason, of course, is the coronavirus pandemic, which has stopped our lives in many ways. Sky Sports, just a day after we ran that …

Sky Sports and BT Sports – No sport, no refunds

Recently I’ve written about Sky subscription prices and leaving Sky. What has also popped up though is that fact that those paying for the rather expensive Sports packages aren’t getting the sport they were promised. The reason, as you may know, is the fact that lots of tournaments, …

BT make 5G available to all customers

With BT swooping in some time back to buy EE, it’s unsurprising that they’re pushing hard with 5G – both as “EE” and “BT”. This morning BT announced that they’re making 5G available for all customers, with 5G BT plans and 5G smartphones from Samsung, OnePlus and Huawei …

Keeping your old router will cost you dear on BT, EE and Plusnet

Our very own BT has announced that customers will now face a £50 charge if they choose not to return the supplied broadband router once the contract ends. It comes as the company tried to reduce waste and mirrors a similar scheme by Virgin. BT have added a …

BT Broadband packages now come with Google Stadia

BT (British Telecom) has announced that it is partnering with Google to launch a range of broadband plans that come with the Stadia cloud gaming service bundled in the package. BT, which is the biggest Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the UK, is planning to offer the free …

BT Announce 5G launch plans

BT, who own EE, have announced their very own 5G service. It’ll of course use the EE masts and you’ll get the same coverage. Launching in the autumn, BT Plus customers will get the option to upgrade first. As with EE, the BT 5G network will be available …

Changing networks – Text to Switch Explained

Today marks the start of a new method of changing networks. For all too long people here in the UK have had to call the infamous “Retentions Team”. They will try lots of things to keep hold of you as a customer. Sometimes this process has a good …

No, really. That IS the new BT logo

I was actually emailed by a number of people after we ran the BT logo story. Some thought it was a joke. No people. It’s very, very real. Costing (apparently) almost £1 million, it’s been ridiculed on social media as you can see above, but – after £50 …

Following years of work, here’s the new BT logo. Err..

They say that less is more, but this is possibly taking things to the extreme. This simple logo is to be the new branding for telecommunications giant BT. Work started back in 2016 on this one, which appears to be not much better than my own logo design …

EE switch on their first live 5G site

Moving from 3G to 4G now seems like a distant memory. Indeed, on the very, very odd occasion that I do drop to 3G I suddenly think… My God! 3G is terrible. How did we cope with this?! But wait, forget about 3G. We’re using 4G and already …

BT Price up the Apple iPhone XS and XS Max

Yes, it’s definitely Apple day today here at Coolsmartphone. We’re detailing some of the plans available and the networks offering them. The next cab off the rank is BT Mobile, and BT, of course, sit on the EE network.. which BT owns. I know, a tad confusing. Let’s …

Caller ID now free

Not too long ago, if you wanted the phone number of the caller to be displayed on your home phone, you’d have to pay some mad fee. It was, when you think about it, a little unfair. Mobile networks have been providing the caller’s number since, ever, but …

4G Mobile broadband plans arrive from BT

Morning all. Good news ! That rash has cleared up! Ah no, wait. BT have got some news for us. They’ve just announced 4G mobile broadband plans for the first time. Not only that, but they’ve also got their first range of 12 month 4G SIM-only plans. BT, …

EE improve BT Sport offering

With EE and BT joining forces a while ago, customers are now starting to see the benefits of such an agreement. The BT Sport app has been great for EE, and has allowed customers to stream football and other top events to their phone, staying up-to-date with live …

EE and BT – Speed, convergence and customer service

So today Marc Allera from BT announced something pretty special. The major plus point, for us at least, was buried in the words “convergence” and “aggregation”. What this basically means is that you’ll be able to get up to 314Mbps ultrafast broadband by 2022. How? Well, BT will …

Ofcom tells BT to share telegraph poles

Getting broadband into your home can be done one of two ways. First, you can push it through the air. More and more networks are doing this and, as EE showed us fairly recently, it doesn’t matter too much on your location. The second option, of course, is via …

Switch mobile networks without fuss. Coming soon!

Many people have likened their favourite mobile provider to their bank, and they’ll stick with that same provider for some time. Loyalty, though, doesn’t always get you the best deals or the best coverage, so it’s good to try comparison sites and look at the options. Now Ofcom, …

The iPhone X is now ready for pre-order

A little bit of me still whinces when the price tag on a phone is four digits long, and I can’t buy an iPhone X myself because it would be worth more than the car I’m driving. That’s just weird. There’s no getting away from the iPhone X …

More iPhone X contract deals

Looking for the iPhone X prices? Need to know just how much you need to put aside for that early Christmas present to yourself? Well, a contract deal will ease the pain a little, and we’ve already had a look at the Vodafone iPhone X pricing. However, there’s …

EE converting airwaves from 2G to superfast 4G

I found a Nokia 6210i in the drawer at the weekend. I’m yet to find the charger for it, but I think my son will probably stifle laughter as I show him the “Snake” game and the 2G data connectivity we had back then. Anyone remember WAP? Anyone …

SIM only deal – 4G, BT, come see, act quickly.

We love a good deal and, as you know, the best mobile deals tend to be SIM only ones. Today we’ve got one with the company that now owns EE, so this particular offering will be running on that network. You’ll get unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and a …

More EE stores comin’ at ya

Hold tight, because you’re about to see a whole lot more of EE on your high street and even in your local supermarket. EE are expanding their retail footprint and have added a partnership with Sainsbury’s too. This will see 100 new EE stores and 400 additional jobs …

Making the air ..a bit.. more fair

There’s long been discussion about the share each network has of the mobile spectrum. Three UK, among others, have also started a campaign to stop one or two networks from being able to grab the larger slices. Today Ofcom have revealed that they will indeed put a cap …

2021 – EE and BT to get beefy

We spoke to EE CEO Marc Allegra back in March and we were intrigued to know whether the recent BT acquisition would mean any EE branding changes. At the time, it was a definite no, and BT seemed content to run EE as a separate brand. After all, …

BT and Openreach go their separate ways

Whilst it will still be owned by BT and it remains to be seen how things will change, Openreach is finally to become a legally separate entity. Telecoms regulator Ofcom has announced they will no longer have to take legal action to split the two companies, and BT …

Telecoms in the modern world – as seen from 1969

I’m sure I’ve posted this video before, but it really is interesting. It was filmed way back in 1969 by the GPO (the General Post Office) and shows some of the ideas and expectations of communications in the 1990’s. The Post Office Research Station at Dollis Hill shows …

Three Home-Fi routers – More detail

Yesterday we mentioned the new high-speed internet which has arrived in Hebron, courtesy of Three UK. The network gave away free “Home-Fi” routers to residents so that they could at last get the fast broadband they’ve long needed. We didn’t know at the time what make the routers …

Three dishes out free broadband wireless routers to Hebron residents

No, I’d never heard of Hebron before writing this either. It’s in Northumberland and there’s less than a couple of hundred houses in the entire parish. However, despite BT digging stuff up and putting a nice green street cabinet for “Superfast Broadband”, residents are still stuck in the …

LIFE Mobile merges into Plusnet Mobile

I’m sure you’ve all heard about Plusnet. They’re a “no nonsense” UK internet provider based in Sheffield. They do broadband, landlines and calls… oh, and they’re owned by BT after an acquisition in 2007. Who else is owned by BT? Well, EE of course. EE in turn own …

BT Just killed the phone box

If you’re of a certain age (cough), phone boxes hold a special place in your heart. For some it was perhaps the only access to a phone you had, for others it was simply sheltering out of the rain. There are many reasons to remember the street side communications …

EE offers up BT Sport to mobile customers

Building on their previous offer, EE are now making it even easier to get your sport fix. Customers on pay monthly plans can now just text “SPORT” to 150 to get six months of free access to the BT Sport App. Once you’ve got that, you can watch …

BT investing £6bn in faster broadband

Following on from a reported 15% rise in annual profits to £3.03bn, BT has announced plans to invest £6bn in faster broadband and mobile services over the next three years. The company plans to offer their “ultrafast” broadband to 12 million premises by 2020. With speeds of 300 …

Leak – EE SIM Only plans get an overhaul

Three have caused a right old ruckus by tweaking their plans recently and now EE are at it too. However, it looks like this change will actually be quite beneficial for some and perhaps not so much for others. We’ve got a naughty picture from an EE shop …