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Also see BT Internet (BT Openworld), BT Cellnet, BT Mobile Home Plan, BT Mobile Sense, BT Shop, BT Broadband, and BT Broadband mobile phones!

This page is the personal opinion of a customer. If I have got anything wrong, please tell me here and I will amend it on the next issue of this site.

BT ShopBritish Telecom

In case you hadn't guessed, this page is NOT the front page of the website of British Telecom the international communications giant. To link to their site, select here: www.bt.com or to buy things visit BT Shop

British Telecom started out as the GPO and later became Post Office Telephones in 1969. Although the GPO was originally a postal company (the Royal Mail) (see p-mail), the telephonic offshoot Post Office Telephones developed an identity separate to the GPO and later became British Telecom (BT).

BT Cellnet

Then during the Cold War, British Telecom had very much the air of an Orwell's 1984 Big Brother system of the type paranoids fear. You weren't even allowed to own your own phone but had to rent one that was legally the property of the corporate authority. Later though, BT no longer having a state enforced monopoly, the company gradually began to reform,BT Mobile SenseBT Mobile in some ways like the Soviet Union making brave efforts to cease to be a communist authoritarian regime and become a 21st Century capitalist nation. Now in the zero-zeros decade, British Telecom has become a proper company which is competitive in the international communications business. It is good to see so many reforms and improvements to the service, and the new way of doing things is very good news for the customer.BT Business. Connections that get results. And although bits of the old "that's the rules and there's nothing you can do about it" way of thinking shows through now and then, it has to be said that British Telecom has made big improvements and will hopefully continue to provide a better and more flexible service to the customer.

phoneSpecial points of note, some of them to be seen on the page on this site titled "PHONE":

* Dial 1471 to find out who phoned you last. Dial 141 to hide your number from people you phone, but don't forget that this does not hide it from the operator, emergency services, etc.

* Dial *411# to turn on CHARGE ADVICE and #411# to turn off CHARGE ADVICE. [find out more]. Charge advice is a free service

BT Cellnet

(well done British Telecom!) which phones you back after you've made a call and tells you how much the call has cost. Knowing how much calls cost soon saves a lot of money. BT doesn't make a big show about this because the measurement is not 100% accurate and is sometimes up to five pence out. More about this

GenieMobile by BT* BT mobile phones. Genie Mobile is a company which is part of British Telecom. More about this here

Also see BT Mobile Home Plan and BT Mobile Sense, which is about managing your mobile phone online! Plus, BT Cellnet Connected for e-mails by mobile phone.

* 192 Directory Enquiries: Should be free. Sadly this is no longer free. But there are ways around this... see 192 Directory EnquiriesBT Shop

* BT Text Message to Home Phone. A fun idea, but widely open to misuse. If you'd like to opt out of BT Text Messaging or set a sensible curfew, see BT Text Message Control

* Odd Pricing policy. Days such as Easter and August Bank Holiday Monday are charged as business work days rather than weekends. You have to remember this when making calls on these holiday days. Using the *411# / #411# feature reveals the truth of this. I have suggested to BT that they make these nominal weekend days and make a big fuss about it. It would be excellent P.R.! More here about BT Holiday pricing

* Expensive 0870 numbers are said to be "National Rate" except that this is no longer how much most UK National rate calls cost. They are charged at the OLD rate, leaving 0870 numbers being deplorably Expensive 0870 Numbers

* BT Fusion was stated to be the latest thing! See BT Fusion to see if there's any developments on that.

* INTERNET services. See BT Internet. BT as an ISP, some very good things about this, and some that are not so good, like for example it being near-impossible to talk to technical support.A BT Multiphone at Kings Cross Station

* 2001/02/28 WELL DONE TO BT for making Multiphones FREE for surfing the Internet and for E-mail. More about this here. This is a very good sign of generosity by a big company, and it is very good for Public Relations because people will talk. And you know IT'S GOOD TO TALK.

* 2005/09 WELL DONE TO BT for introducing free BT Privacy which gives CALLER DISPLAY free (so you can tell who is phoning you before you pick up the phone) as well as giving you the option of being included in the Telephone Preference Service.

* 2011/07 Sympathies with BT. It's not BT's fault that they fell victim to a new made-up law which forced BT to introduce censorship of Newzbin. Regardless of the rights and wrongs of this case, the fact is that Internet censorship is wrong, and the forcing of such a rule just proves the UK to be a tyranny. Other tyrannies are already falling, for example Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, etc.

Payphones - jamming-up of! What to do if you find a payphone taking your money and not allowing calls... Payphone Money-Harvesting Scam explained

If you wish to report any damage to any BT equipment in the street, you can call 0800 023 2023 and talk to BT Openreach = BT Wholesale.

BT Business. Connections that get results.BTBusiness offers a wide range of BT-related services to BUSINESS. For more about this, LINK HERE

British Telecom Tower, LondonTo link to the website of British Telecom, select here: www.bt.com but if you would like to buy some things from BT's shop, select here: BT Shop

I have heard that in Scotland,O2 Mobile Phones BT is sometimes known as E.T., as in English Telecom! (as well as E.T. phone home etc). This is because the phone services in Scotland are not as good as they should be!

To make comment on any of this, or to put right anything that is in error here, you can write in

A summary of BT related merchant references are as follows:

* BT Shop

* BT BusinessBT Shop

* BT Broadband

* BT Business Broadband

* BT Business Direct

* BT Mobile

* BT Cellnet

* BT FusionBT Openzone

* BT Internet

* BT Tradespace

* BT Openzone

BT Mobile SenseBT MobileWhat? British Telecom BY A CUSTOMER? What kind of person would write about BT? Surely this must be a person who never gets out, a kind of NERDY type? Maybe someone who isn't very INTERESTING? Well, prepare to be shocked when you see the front page and the site index !!!

Thanks BT! Well Done to British Telecom for their kind generosity to the affiliate at Xmas 2004! It's nice to be appreciated!