BT cuts prices for small-business packages

BT has announced a drastic overhaul of its pricing for broadband and mobile packages for small businesses, with most tariffs becoming cheaper.

The refreshed rates were announced on Monday. The biggest price cut in BT Business's broadband range was for its Option 3 tariff, which is now £30 rather than £40.50 per month, excluding VAT. In addition, that package now includes mobile broadband as a standard feature.

The cheapest broadband package, Option 1, was cut from £19.79 to £15 per month, while Option 2 had a slight price drop from £26.99 to £25. New add-ons — such as free business email, VoIP and web hosting — are now also included in Option 1.

The new rates will give business customers "more at less cost, to ensure they can weather the economic storm", Bill Murphy, BT Business's managing director, said in a statement.

BT also said in the statement that it will soon raise its business broadband speeds to 20Mbps.

As for mobile, the company reduced prices on its Talk Time packages by up to 34 percent. It also augmented those packages with free email and — for 24-month-contract customers — bundled in a free Research in Motion BlackBerry Bold handset.

BT was not the only broadband provider to announce cheaper broadband for companies on Monday. Opal, the business-broadband wing of Carphone Warehouse's TalkTalk network, unveiled a £10-per-month tariff on the same day. However, Opal's package is lighter on extra features than BT's new product packages.