BT broadband price changes

BT Group PLC
27 February 2002

Feb 27, 2002

BTOPENWORLD CUTS BROADBAND PRICES AND ANNOUNCES SPECIAL OFFER FOR LAUNCH OF PLUG
                                      & GO

BTopenworld, BT's mass market Internet Service Provider, today announced major
cuts to broadband prices, plus plans to launch a self install product with a
special offer of free line activation.

From April 1 the price of broadband will fall from £39.99 a month to just £29.99
a month for existing Home 500 and Business 500 customers. BTopenworld is also
cutting the rental charges for its Ethernet products by £20 a month for business
500 plus, and £10 a month for the 1000 plus and 2000 plus products.(For full
price details see attached sheet)

Plug & Go, the new self-install product, will be available from March 5, with a
special offer to waive the £65 activation charge for orders received up to May
31, making broadband prices even lower. Plug & Go monthly rental will be £29.99
and there will be a one off equipment charge of £85.

Alison Ritchie, CEO of BTOW said: "This is great news for new and existing
customers and will be a huge boost to the UK broadband market. We are building
on yesterday's announcement by Ben Verwaayen, CEO of BT, of cuts in the
wholesale price. It will now be even cheaper and easier to get connected to high
speed Internet and our existing customers will see a substantial fall in their
monthly rental."

Alison added: "Customers who took part in our trials of Plug & Go told us they
were delighted with how easy and convenient it was to install the product. As
well as cutting prices it also does away with the need for customers to have to
wait for an engineer visit to install broadband."

Once launched, customers will be able to order Plug & Go on-line or by
telephone, providing customers meet all the necessary criteria for receiving
broadband, their service should be up and running within 10 working days.
Customers will be sent a comprehensive installation pack and an agreed date for
their line to be remotely activated.

The installation pack will contain everything needed to install and operate
broadband on either a PC or Mac: Two ADSL filters, an ADSL modem and the
necessary software, plus easy to follow step-by-step instructions.

Alison said: "BTopenworld is a leading provider in the broadband market with
100,000 customers. With Plug & Go and the new lower prices I am determined to
maintain that position as the DSL provider of choice. We are already working
hard to further improve customer service and over the next few weeks we will be
announcing details of a major marketing drive, plus activity in the content and
applications area."

"In the coming weeks we plan to further support the drive to stimulate the UK
broadband market by announcing increases in our marketing activity. We will also
be unveiling details of new applications and interactive services for both
businesses and consumers. Already this year we have launched the UK's first
music subscription channel and the UK's biggest games subscription channel, both
of which will help grow the broadband market."

Note to Editors:

Full prices appear on the attached sheet

For further information on all BTopenworld products and to order Plug & Go
please visit www.btopenworld/broadband.

For the Plug and Go product, users will need a PC or Mac with the following
minimum specification: Pentium 200Mhz/Mac OS 8.6; 32MB RAM; 16-bit sound card;
4-speed CD-ROM player; video card/display 800 x 600, 256 colours; 150MB free on
hard drive; Windows 98, 98SE, ME or 2000 Professional; an available USB port.


About BTopenworld

BTopenworld, BT plc's mass-market Internet division, is one of the UK's leading
Internet service providers delivering broadband and narrowband services to more
than 1.6 million business and consumer customers in the UK through
www.btopenworld.com. The company offers a wide range of Internet access packages
and payment options, these include Pay-as-you-go, BTopenworld for BT surf
packages offering unmetered Internet access evenings and weekends, BTopenworld
Anytime offering access to the Internet available 24/7 and BTopenworld Connect
Anytime, a 24/7 package designed specifically for business customers.

BTopenworld's broadband products cover a choice of download speeds, from up to
500kbps, to up to 2Mbps, single or multi-user set-ups for PC or Mac, and static
or dynamic IP addresses. BTopenworld also offers other Internet services to
support customer's online experience, including email services, SpeechMail
(charged at NationalCall rates), Cyberpatrol, a WAP portal and more. The company
also provides virtual ISP services to a network of corporate customers. Alison
Ritchie is the chief executive officer of BTopenworld.

BTopenworld's games and music sites can be found at: www.gamesdomain.com and
www.btopenworld.com/music

    For further information contact Tony Henderson, head of media relations,
                          BTopenworld: 020 7469 2363.

                                       Or

      Harriet Rich/Louise Metcalfe/Jo Balfour at Octane PR: 020 7802 2662.

                          Email: [e-mail]


                                                                     New Prices
                          Monthly rental                One off connection charge             Equipment charge

Home 500                  £29.99                        Free until 31.5.02                    £85
Plug and Go                                             (and then £65)

Business 500              £29.99                        Free until 31.5.02                    £85
Plug and Go                                             (and then £65)

Existing home and         £29.99                        N/A                                   N/A
Business 500              (currently £39.99)

 
                                                        Other Business Products
                              Monthly rental New & existing customers Install charge

Business 500+                 £79.99                                  £260
                              (currently £99.99)

Business 1000                 £119.99                                 £260
                              (currently £129.99)

Business 2000                 £149.99                                 £260
                              (currently £159.99)



(All prices for home products are inc.VAT and for business products ex. VAT.
Prices for Plug and Go apply from March 5 and for existing customers from April
1.)

                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange