83% of UK consumers are planning to gift a connected device as families get set for Christmas, according to study by BT Full Fibre
New BT Full Fibre study sees gaming consoles, smart phones and tablets amongst the top presents to be gifted this Christmas
21% of Brits plan to add a new 4K TV to their home in time for Christmas
Children and dads identified as the most likely ‘bandwidth hoggers’ on the home network as daytime traffic on BT’s broadband network more than doubles over the course the year
News comes as more people than ever before look to upgrade their home broadband speeds with BT’s Full Fibre offering a futureproof connection
4th December 2020 - As the nation prepares for a Christmas like no other, a new survey by BT Full Fibre reveals that British families are getting set for a connected Christmas with 83% gifting a connected device to their loved ones.
Smart phones are the most popular gift this year, with 36% of people revealing they plan to gift one. Closely followed by games consoles (33%) after the high profile launches of the next generation consoles earlier this year. Tablets (29%), laptops (26%), TVs (25%), and smart speakers (19%) are also amongst the top tech gifts this Christmas.
On average, homes across the UK already have 28 devices connected to their home Wi-Fi. This includes four smart TVs, three tablets, two laptops and two games consoles on average in each home. As Brits spend more time online, using their internet connection for all manner of activities including streaming TV, home schooling, working and online gaming, BT reveals that daytime traffic across its broadband network has more than doubled during the year.
With Brits also revealing that 21% plan to add a new 4K TV to their home in time for Christmas, and UK consumers saying they expect to have at least two 8K TVs in their homes in the next five years – the requirement for great home broadband connectivity in the home has never been greater.
To help meet the growing needs of consumers in the 2020s, both today and in the future as modern families become more connected, BT has developed a range of Full Fibre broadband plans.
Up to 25 times faster than Superfast Fibre, BT Full Fibre boasts a super reliable connection, even at busy periods meaning customers can download a 4k movie in 34 seconds. Perfect for busy connected homes providing extra capacity for when multiple online devices stream, browse, monitor and game at once, and especially good for those living with bandwidth hoggers. Over half of those polled revealed it is their kids getting online which slows down their internet speed at home, and dads are in second place with 27% identifying them as the culprit to slowing internet speeds in the house. Streaming TV and playing video games are the worst for broadband hogging according to respondents.
Sharon Meadows, Director of Propositions, BT said: “With ever more connected devices in the home and Brits adopting technology so readily, we’re seeing a real need by families across the UK to future proof their home broadband connection. Our Full Fibre packages are designed to meet that need, now and in the years to come, providing ultrafast speeds and the best reliability on the market. So, no matter how large the demands of new Wi-Fi enabled devices in the home - whether it’s 8K video, virtual reality gaming or the ever-connected smart home – BT Full Fibre customers will be able to get the very most of them.”
The Gadget Show’s Ortis Deley commented: “Connected devices have fast become a key part of our everyday lives, and this year more than ever has highlighted the importance of a reliable, quality broadband connection around the home.
“That’s where BT’s Full Fibre offering comes in. Knowing you can rely on having the best performing connectivity in your home at all times of the day, reassures you that no matter what new tech you get this Christmas, or in the coming years, your home connection will be built to handle it.”
BT’s Full Fibre plans start from £39.99 per month and are currently rolling out to households across the UK. The service is built on a gigabit capable full fibre network which can deliver a maximum speed of 1000 Mbps and depending which plan a customer chooses, an average of 900 Mbps download speed into the home. The plans also offers ultrafast upload average speeds of up to 110Mbps – perfect for live online gaming, smart security camera monitoring, home working and video calling.
In addition to the UK’s most reliable home broadband, BT Full Fibre customers benefit from BT’s award-winning Smart Hub 2 – BT’s most powerful home router yet, with the option to take out Complete Wi-Fi which guarantees a fast connection in every single room of the home, or £100 back. BT’s dedicated UK and Ireland customer service teams are available on the phone, as well as the option to select a visit from one of BT’s new dedicated team of 900 Home Tech Experts who offer friendly, expert support for customers at home - providing a stress-free set up for BT TV, broadband, home phone and mobile services.
For more information on BT Full Fibre and to check availability in your area, please visit www.bt.com/broadband/full-fibre.
BT Group is the UK’s leading telecommunications and network provider and a leading provider of global communications services and solutions, serving customers in 180 countries. Its principal activities in the UK include the provision of fixed voice, mobile, broadband and TV (including Sport) and a range of products and services over converged fixed and mobile networks to consumer, business and public sector customers. For its global customers, BT provides managed services, security and network and IT infrastructure services to support their operations all over the world. BT consists of four customer-facing units: Consumer, Enterprise, Global and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Openreach, which provides access network services to over 650 communications provider customers who sell phone, broadband and Ethernet services to homes and businesses across the UK.
For the year ended 31 March 2020, BT Group’s reported revenue was £22,905m with reported profit before taxation of £2,353m.
British Telecommunications plc is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
For more information, visit www.bt.com/about
