Claims of broadband savings from TalkTalk slammed by BT

Claims made by TalkTalk of it offering SME broadband at 60 percent less than BT has been slammed as not a like-for-like comparison by the telecoms giant, although it has now heavily reduced the prices of its business broadband with the availability of a £15 per month package.

The latest package by the Carphone Warehouse division TalkTalk is aimed at small businesses at 58 percent less than the cost of its BT equivalent and is available through its Opal business division. A BT spokesman said “The claims of Opal are over inflated and fail to compare like with like. Judging by their previous track record and claims in the consumer market, this announcement needs to be treated cautiously.”

The business package has been compared against the BT Business Total Broadband Option 3, which costs £40 and this, said the spokesman, is not a like-for-like comparison due to the availability of additional services.

The managing director of BT business services said “In the current difficult climate, businesses need more than just broadband access, they need a complete service to drive competitive edge. What’s the point in buying just the steering wheel when you need the rest of the car too?”

The launch of the business broadband was the beginning of many more business based next-generation services to come said Paul Lawton, the managing director of Opal. He said “This is a building block, and once you get good connectivity you can do other things on top.” Included in these were VoIP, video and also hosted services.

A recent announcement was made regarding the lowering of its business broadband packages prices by BT. The BT Broadband Option 3 price has been dropped from £40.50 to £30 per month, which is a 35 percent reduction and for no extra charge it will include connection to mobile broadband. The BT Business Total Broadband Option 1 has also been reduced from £19.79 to £15 per month and Option 2 has been dropped from £26.99 to £25 per month.