BT phone home

Following deregulation, it has taken BT a long time to make inroads into the telephone service here in Spain.  They are now able to offer an alternative to Telefónica for the total package; line rental, calls and ADSL. They are not in a position to do new residential  installs at the moment but will be in the future.

Here is the rub; you can't deal with BT directly here in Spain, you have to use one of their authorised dealers. However, one such dealer is based in San Miguel and she has been contacting people on our urbanisation offering to visit them and explain what is on offer. I understand that several people have already signed up to make the change.

For the benefit of those who haven't been contacted, this is the deal:-

Option 1  for 13€ per month PLUS IVA you get basic line rental. Calls to UK landlines cost 3.3 cents per minute and to Spanish landlines 3 cents per minute.

Option 2  23€ per month PLUS IVA  for line rental and 400 minutes of calls to UK landlines. Calls to Spanish landlines cost 3 cents per minute.

ADSL broadband Internet with speeds up to 6Mb* - 36.50€ per month PLUS IVA. This package includes  a free wireless router which you can have personally delivered and installed for 30€ .

If you rent an existing phone from Telefónica (Domo 1 or 2) you would either need to arrange to return it** or continue to pay rental.

BT  handle all the paperwork to make the change and  notify you when each step is complete. Once the transfer is complete, which usually take between 4 and 8 weeks, you would be billed by BT. At that point you'd need to ensure that you have settled any outstanding amounts to Telefónica and cancel your direct debit with them.

The minimum contract is for 18 months.

To decide whether to change you'd need to sit down and compare the costs bearing in mind that most of us took out the Duo package which includes all local and national calls in Spain and the line rental includes the cost of the Domo 1 phone we were supplied with.

To take advantage of this offer you should phone 966 723 766 or contact Maggie directly on 675 375 866

* BT claim that you will have available whatever speed you are currently getting. However, the lady who explained all this was not sure whether the same applies to upgraded connections which use ADSL 2+.

** According to Telefónica, to cancel a rented phone you need to call the 1004 number and give them your details. They will then send you a postage paid package to return the phone. Once they have received it, Telefónica will adjust your bills accordingly.