BT Smart Hub 3 and Complete Wifi 2 Release and Availability

[Cliffycliff]

I'm really hoping i can use my main router with teh Smarthub 3 in brisge mode and connect teh digital vocie still. At least then i can actually egt the best out of teh New broadband speeds. Many unhappy campers about no 2.5Gbps LAN ports or WiFi 6E, this at least would be a plaisable work around

[infinitywaiter]

For those wanting update on BT/EE Smart Hub 3, note that it will be under EE and not BT...

BT released the Smart Hub 3 for Business Users at the start of July....

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2023/07/isp-bt-launch-uk-business-smart-hub-3-router-and-compl...

Which follows the soft launch in June of similar kit for customers of their EE consumer division which will probably be officially out when Openreach open 1.8gb to the public

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2023/06/isp-ee-uk-launch-1-6gbps-full-fibre-broadband-plan-and...

Wifi 7 hubs will be 2024 at the earliest...

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2023/05/bt-aspire-to-be-first-uk-isp-to-bundle-wifi-7-broadban...

[infinitywaiter]

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BT moving all consumer things to EE.

Will be interesting to see what happens in 2024 when our current BT contract comes to an end, with landlines not cut off until 2025.

BT:
Full Fibre 900 with additional Whole Home Wifi 6, Digital Voice, plus BT Mobile for kids family sims.

EE:
EE Mobile for Samsung Ultra phones.

Can't not have landline, as for starters, Grandparents and Great Grandparents prefer to use and receive calls on landlines, most likely the same with other families and elderly relatives who don't want to or don't like using mobile phones, or for those with relatives who need landlines for medical needs or emergency etc.

(Looks like it will be EE for Broadband and not BT in the future too if it is only EE being pushed with new Smart Hub for consumers when and if the upto 1.6gb options are good to go, with BT mainly being for business/commercial users.)

Currently BT only support Digital Voice and WiFi 6 discs, so if BT want EE to fully be their consumer arm, then they need to fully incorporate these into EE options as well.

No point BT trying to get all consumers to move to be on EE arm as currently we would have to bin our Digital Voice phones and pay out £20 extra for the Digital Voice adapter, just to be able to use a landline phone again through EE.

Obviously, BT ending pstn in Dec 2025 will get them a lot of new BT/EE Mobile customers as a lot will go down that route instead of having Digital Voice or another Voip phone service etc (which you would need anyways if your broadband goes down as backup, unless you paid the extra for the BT/EE 4g hub etc and then you would be using mobile data albeit supposedly for free even though you've technically paid for it).

Was looking to have the SH3 already by doing the EE Smart Hub 3 trial myself, as have done many previous BT trials like for Digital Voice, WHW Premium and WHW 6. However, BT/EE wanted new subscribers as trialists and couldn't get on this one unfortunately.

[infinitywaiter]

Official release news from BT:

https://newsroom.ee.co.uk/ee-sets-new-standard-for-home-broadband-with-supercharged-16-gbps-full-fib...

Although, given that we, and most likely many other people with newer motherboards etc, are using home pcs with 2.5gb internet ports, this does seem a sort of backwards step for connectivity, as mentioned here in other thread...

https://community.bt.com/t5/BT-Devices/Smart-Hub-Plus-launched/td-p/2298405

The only real benefits we can see ourselves will be with the likes of downloading things like Xbox games and movies etc.

Or for those who work from home with web design for example as a side job, although unless they have a vast client list and maybe then their own server rooms, then that might not matter to them as those who do it full time as main job would most likely be on the business user side already.

Can see a lot of current fibre 900 users jumping onto the new higher options just for the higher rates, without giving any thought of their own current setup.

Many of these 'new' signups will still be using pcs and devices with the 1gb limit, as which has already been discussed in the mentioned thread above.

Some here will just say, if not happy then switch, well that is fine if others are available in your area. We're in newish estate with only BT available so can't go Virgin instead for example, so would expect BT to be able to match existing competitors etc.

[gameinn1]

Is there any update? I heard that these would release July and only the higher speed tiers had been moved back to around September.

[Mapantz]

@gameinn1

I spoke to someone at BT a couple of weeks ago and was told it wouldn't be until 2024.

[Cliffycliff]

Honestly unless teh new hub has a bridged mode and i can put it and my digital vocie after my third party router then these speed increases are totally meaningless

[Monir]

Could you log into the hub manager and send an image of what it looks like

[pete642]

Considering WiFi 6/6E has been out for absolutely yonks and BT are still messing about trying to cobble something together is absolutely shocking. Also the price that BT are charging to have pretty much a second rate service is actually terrible. BT are becoming like the post office, too big to change direction and be and agile cutting edge business capable of delivering anything meaningful in a reasonable time period. Hence the introduction of EE. BT wake up and smell the coffee, other providers are kicking your backside in your own backyard. Rant over, thanks for sharing the info with the rest of us mate it’s really good of you.

[gameinn1]

You can easily get the wifi extender on ebay but the actual hub is mia even from ee themselves.

It does seem like 2024 for the hub is a realistic timeframe.