If you have a smartphone and your a BT Customer you can
access your BT calling plan from your smartphone and use your inclusive or cheaper 0800/0845/0870 calls .

You can use the BT SmartTalk app when you're at home, connected to your wireless BT Home Hub.

Out and about? Connect via wi-fi including 7.5m BT Wi-fi hotspots worldwide.

No wi-fi? The BT SmartTalk app will also work over your mobile 3G connection in the UK.

http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayTopic.do?topicId=35308&s_cid=con_FURL_btsmarttalk

  Note app only works with I Phone and Android Smartphones.

Whilst the scope of this app and service is presented as being somewhat limited, I wonder if it could have wider implications for the issue of calls from mobiles to landlines.

It certainly has implications in respect of PAYG smartphone mobile users and their choice of home broadband. With BT home broadband they have free access to make mobile calls under the terms of their BT Call Plan using BT WiFi hotspots, thereby incurring no data or call usage on their mobile package.

One may then think in terms of a smartphone that has no mobile network connection whatsoever, yet is able to make outgoing calls as well as connecting to web services.

If this takes off, one has to fear for the price that BT will have to charge for its Call Plans.

It would be great to hear from those who understand this better.

It appears to me that this app is only available for i phones and android and not windows phones,  >:(  unless I have.  missed it. :-/

sherbert wrote on Jan 12^th, 2013 at 7:19pm:

It appears to me that this app is only available for i phones and android and not windows phones,  >:(  unless I have.  missed it. :-/

Yes thats correct. 
http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/40732/c/345,6293,6294

SilentCallsVictim wrote on Jan 12^th, 2013 at 11:12am:

If this takes off, one has to fear for the price that BT will have to charge for its Call Plans.

I agree but will it really make much difference to price increases as BT make it a habit of increasing call charges/line rental on a regular basis anyhow now.

BT already charge nearly £16 just for linerental on it's own now (not to mention really expensive out-of-tariff call charges), and all this is before this takes off.

So ultimately this may mean higher charges but if this takes off (and I believe it will), charges are already extortionate now and continue rising regularly now.

This presumably uses VoIP and presumably is routed to/over BTs network to enable them to charge the same price as if called from a BT landline.

This means it could potentially mean inclusive calls to 0800, 0845 & 0870 from a mobile and abroad if these calls are made via this app during the time the same call from a BT landline would be free.


sherbert wrote on Jan 12^th, 2013 at 7:19pm:

It appears to me that this app is only available for i phones and android and not windows phones,  >:(  unless I have.  missed it. :-/

Iphone and Android are the most common smartphone OS's in use.  If enough people contacted BT about the possibility of supporting Windows and Blackberry smartphone users as well then they would probably write the app for these phones as well.

You could also use it on 18185 , 0808 freephone access number to make cheaper x-net mobile and intl calls from your mobile,and cheaper 01/02/03 0845/0870 calls if you dont have the appropriate inclusive minutes.

http://www.18185.co.uk/mobilerates.php

Looks like BT have beaten Virgin Media to it

http://mediacentre.virginmedia.com/Stories/Virgin-Media-introduces-UK-s-first-converged-calling-2400.aspx

Utility Warehouse have been offering a similar service for a while now.

https://www.utilitywarehouse.co.uk/comms/freecall

I wonder who thought of it first out of Virgin and BT?