BT Brings Landline-priced Calls to the iPhone with New App
Telecoms provider British Telecom this week announced the launch of SmartTalk, a new application that aims to help customers save money on phone calls. The app will allow folks to call as though they were using their BT landline, which means cheaper calls to numbers that would otherwise be expensive for mobile users.
“This is a really exciting breakthrough that means you can take your BT calling plan with you and continue saving money when you’re away from home, either in the UK or abroad," said John Petter, managing director consumer at BT.
Calls can be made using the app as long as you're connected to WiFi, have a mobile data connection, or are logged on to a BT hotspot. If you're abroad, you can make calls for the same price as a UK phone call. BT customers can make inclusive calls using their home calling plan to UK landlines, 0800, 0845 and 0870 numbers on their smartphone.
Of course, how much you can get out of the app is going to depend on your BT home calling plan. For example, if you've ponied up for BT’s Unlimited Anytime Plus Plan, the company points out that you'll be able to make 24/7 calls to any UK landline number or 0845 number at no extra cost while calls to mobiles will be billed at 2.65p/minute.
The app is available for free download via the App Store. It's not yet clear if BT plans to make this service available to Android users.
Contact Us for News Tips, Corrections and Feedback
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
-
ibnmuhammad Good news, thanks for the article.Reply
Particularly great when you're abroad and calling back home to UK!
@Jane: just wondering, do you live in UK?
I guess you must do, considering that the source is bt.com and no American visits that website, right? :)
-
ttcboy Viber! anyone ???Reply
In this age of day, most of the people have smart phones with data plans and it is kind of pointless to pay for service that u can get it for free.
Only one advantage this app might have over others is that it can use the app to call land line but then again, it's not free.