BT makes re-entry into consumer mobile market

UK telecom company BT has made a re-entry into the consumer mobile market, after a 13-year absence, with 4G subscription offerings priced at £5 a month and more.

Aimed at attracting users to BT's broadband service - the group's main moneyspinner - mobile subscriptions would come at up to half the price for BT broadband customers. Mobile customers who do not opt for broadband would still be able to access to live premier league matches for free, via the BT Sport app.

According to John Petter, BT Consumer chief, the offering was a `thank you' to loyal broadband customers.

The former state-owned telecom company, which is pushing the process of acquisition of the EE network with a £12.5 billion, is dipping its toe in a market with limited service offering airtime but no handsets.

BT created its own mobile network called Cellnet, which was rebranded as O2. However, the business was spun off in 2002 and was now in the process of getting acquired by Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa.

The new BT service, launched on Wednesday, would run over airtime rented from EE, and would combine mobile airwaves with access to BT's network of 5 million Wi-Fi hotspots.

According to Paolo Pescatore of telecom consultancy CCS Insight, an entry tariff of £5 a month would grab headlines, but inclusive access to BT Sport and 5 million wi-fi hotspots offered important differentiation in a cut-throat field, BBC reported.

The company, he said, expected initial low-key marketing to heat up as BT made a broader assault on the bundled telecom market over the summer.

BT's basic deal - which included 200 minutes of calls and 500MB of 4G data - would cost £10 a month to customers without a BT broadband subscription.

According to the latest figures, BT was the UK's biggest broadband provider with a subscriber base of 7.6 million consumers signed up to the service, according to its latest figures.