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Common questions
How much does it cost to use BT Openzone and what's the best tariff for me?
What you pay depends on the BT Openzone pricing package that you choose. There are a number of pricing options to cater for different usage patterns.
Here are a few examples.
- If you're a territory account manager, often away from the office, and need access to customer, product or market information held on your company's intranet,
BT Openzone Subscription is best for you. You pay a modest upfront monthly fee for extensive access and fast data transfer - cost is unaffected by file size. - If you think you'll be a casual user of wireless broadband but want the ongoing convenience of being able to email or surf the web from your PDA whenever you want, for pleasure or business purposes,
BT Openzone per Minute is best for you. There's no monthly payment commitment and you'll never be charged for more than you need. - If you're a freelance designer, journalist or photographer, you could be in one place for a week and another for three. With high-speed internet access, you can send pictures, music and other large files back to head office or colleagues - they won't need to wait for you to get back to upload your latest work and test out your ideas. We suggest a BT Openzone Choice account - you can top it up when you need to in hourly, daily or monthly amounts, according to your upcoming schedule.
- If you're an auditor, you may need to be on site for varying periods but keep in touch with the office on specific days. If you're a business executive, you may need to attend a series of regional conferences for several weeks but have to work in between times. Maybe you’re visiting the UK for a short period of time or taking a long weekend away, but still need to get online. For short-term, one-off situations like these, a BT Openzone 90-minute, 24-hour, 5-day or 30-day Voucher would be perfect.
- Choose BT Openzone 500 Americas or 500 Europe vouchers if you want to use this service for short periods of time, mainly outside of the UK. These vouchers can be used in the Americas (North America, including Canada, and South America) or Europe. You get 500 minutes to use during a 7- or 14-day period. The price of your voucher covers usage in the UK, Ireland and selected BA lounges worldwide, plus the cost of roaming in either the Americas or Europe.
More about pricing plan options
I want to use Wi-Fi more than 2 hours a month. What’s the best plan for me?
You get better value for your money by signing up for a BT Openzone Subscription.
- Roam onto the T-Mobile UK network at no extra charge with the BT Openzone 500 Extra, BT Openzone 2000 and BT Openzone 4000.
- All BT Openzone subscription accounts will allow you to roam onto our partners networks when abroad (additional charges apply).
- Light users should consider either the BT Openzone 500 for £5 (ex VAT) per month or BT Openzone 500 Extra at £10 (ex VAT) per month.
- If you find you’re using the service a lot, consider changing your tariff to either the BT Openzone 2000 for £17 (ex VAT) per month, or BT Openzone 4000 for £25 (ex VAT) per month.
Who can I contact to help me choose a plan?
The BT Openzone team can help you choose. Please contact us by:
- telephone on Freefone 0800 169 1397 (8.00am-6.00pm GMT weekdays) or +44 1793 590 221 from abroad*
(* Calls charged at your telephone service provider's international call rates.)
What are the benefits of subscribing to
BT Openzone?
If you want assurances that your service will never be interrupted due to insufficient credit, several BT Openzone subscription-type pricing plans are best for you. You pay a fixed amount for a set number of minutes each month (500, 2,000 or 4,000), with additional minutes charged at 10p (ex VAT). Otherwise, choose a BT Openzone per Minute account, costing 20p (ex VAT) for each minute spent online and you’ll always be in control of the cost.
A BT Openzone per Minute or BT Openzone Subscription account lets you keep the same username and password, allows you to roam abroad on partner networks (charges are extra) and generates an itemised bill in arrears. Note that monthly minutes are not for use with international roaming and unused minutes cannot be carried forward.
How do I pay?
- BT Openzone 90-minute, 24-hour, 5-day and 30-day Vouchers (all inc VAT): cash (at hotspots only), debit or credit card
- BT Openzone 500 Americas and 500 Europe vouchers (all inc VAT): debit or credit card
- BT Openzone Choice (top-ups in BT Openzone Voucher increments, inc VAT): create and top up your account with a debit or credit card (available to UK and Ireland card holders only), or create and top up your account with BT click&buy (credit card option within this is available to UK, Ireland and international credit card holders)
- BT Openzone per Minute and BT Openzone Subscription (all ex VAT): Direct Debit billing, credit card or American Express
How am I billed?
- BT Openzone per Minute and BT Openzone Subscription customers receive a monthly bill.
- A BT Openzone per Minute bill will request payment in arrears for the minutes you've used in the previous month.
- A BT Openzone Subscription bill will request advanced payment of the charge for your inclusive monthly minutes, and payment in arrears for any usage beyond the previous month's inclusive minutes allowance. Any international roaming charges will also be included (separate charges apply).
How do I subscribe to BT Openzone?
Simply follow the prompts from the BT Openzone Subscription order pages. Please fill in all the requested details and remember that fields marked with an asterisk are mandatory. You'll be able to pay by Direct Debit, credit card (including international MasterCard and Visa) and American Express. Once you’ve submitted your purchase, you’ll receive confirmation from BT Openzone, together with your username and password details.
If you sign up for a BT Openzone Subscription pricing plan, each month your bank account, credit card or American Express card will be charged the monthly fee in advance, plus any time that exceeds your previous month's inclusive minute allowance. BT Openzone per Minute subscribers will be charged for the minutes used in the previous month, at 20p a minute.
How do I set up BT Openzone Choice?
Simply follow the prompts from the BT Openzone order pages. Please fill in all the requested details and remember that fields marked with an asterisk are mandatory. You'll be able to pay by debit or credit card (UK and Ireland card holders only) or with your BT click&buy account (credit card option within this is available to UK, Ireland and international card holders).
Once you’ve set up your BT Openzone Choice account, you can then use your debit or credit card or BT click&buy account to buy more time in £6, £10, £27 or £40 denominations. Your access time starts upon log-in and lasts for the time period purchased:
- 90-minute top-up gives you 90 minutes' access within a
24-hour period - 24-hour top-up gives you unlimited minutes within a
24-hour period - 5-day top-up gives you 2,000 minutes access within a 5-day period
- 30-day top-up gives you 4,000 minutes access within a 30-day period
You may continue using the same log-in details (username and password) by topping up your account whenever you need extra credit. After submitting your purchase you’ll receive confirmation from BT Openzone, together with your username and password.
What is BT click&buy?
BT click&buy is a highly secure service from BT that provides you with an account to make purchases across a range of BT click&buy partner web sites. You can now use this to top up BT Openzone Choice, and later settle the BT click&buy account by direct debit, debit or credit card, or your BT phone bill.
UK, Ireland and international customers can set up a BT click&buy account (subject to BT click&buy Terms and Conditions and card acceptance). Simply register, then select your preferred payment option. If you have a UK or Ireland-based bank account, you can choose the direct debit option. Accepted debit cards are Switch or Solo. Accepted credit cards are American Express, MasterCard and Visa (including international MasterCard and Visa). If you’ve been a BT customer for 12 months or more, you can also conveniently request to have any BT click&buy account charges (and therefore BT Openzone Choice top-ups) added to your BT phone bill.
Can I use a BT Openzone Voucher and BT Openzone Choice account interchangeably?
BT Openzone Vouchers are purchased for one-off use only. When you no longer have credit on your Voucher, your username and password will expire. BT Openzone Choice gives you an account that you can top up using a debit or credit card or with your BT click&buy account. You pay for 90 minutes, 24 hours, 5 days or 30 days of access, then continue to purchase whatever usage you need and when you need it. So you'll always have access - and be able to use the same username and password each time.
Where can I buy Vouchers?
You can buy Vouchers from selected BT Openzone hotspot sites, and online with a credit or debit card.
Where can I use BT Openzone 500 Americas and 500 Europe vouchers?
BT Openzone 500 Americas
- UK (including local roaming partner hotspots), Ireland and selected BA lounges worldwide
- Brazil, Argentina & Chile: VEX
- Canada: Opti-Fi Networks (Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport only)
- USA: T-Mobile USA, Opt-Fi Networks
BT Openzone 500 Europe
- UK (including local roaming partner hotspots), Ireland and selected BA lounges worldwide
- Belgium: Telenet
- Denmark: CPH Wireless Internet (Copenhagen Airport)
- France: Orange France, Hub
- Germany: T-Mobile International
- Netherlands: KPN, T-Mobile International
- Portugal: Portugal Telecom, VEX
- Spain: KubiWireless, Telefonica
- Switzerland: Swisscom Mobile
Which debit and credit cards are accepted
for payment?
Switch debit cards can be used. International MasterCard and Visa credit cards are accepted (except for topping up your BT Openzone Choice account, which is only possible with a UK or Ireland MasterCard or Visa card unless you have set up a BT click&buy account). American Express is also accepted.
How do I change my tariff?
Changing your tariff is easy. Just contact the BT Openzone team on 0870 240 5745 (or +44 132 556 0841 from abroad*) between 9.00am and 5.00pm GMT weekdays, and select option 2 for billing queries.
(* Calls charged at your telephone service provider's international call rates.)
Are there any corporate deals?
We're pleased to consider corporate deals. If you're interested in a special package for over 20 users please email
How does BT Openzone Subscription compare with 3G offerings?
The £25 monthly fee (with 4,000 minutes included) for BT Openzone Subscription is excellent value for money for any mobile worker wanting to connect when they're working away from the home or office but in another stationary location such as a hotel or conference centre. BT Openzone charges are per minute, while 3G is per MB so direct comparisons aren't easy. However, we know that wireless is used for heavy data sessions, which is likely to be expensive on 3G.
3G may have extensive UK coverage but is still not available everywhere, and BT Openzone sites are carefully targeted at locations where customers need them most. Wireless broadband also has the advantage of greater global availability.
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Contact us
Freefone 0800 169 1397 (8.00am-6.00pm GMT weekdays)
From abroad: +44 1793 590 221
