Sky

Sky is famous for its groundbreaking TV service, but Sky customers can also enjoy some great value deals for broadband as well as calls. Sky offers two broadband packages that both offer plenty of generous allowances and extras, making them excellent value for money. Sky Fibre Unlimited is the most comprehensive package, providing unlimited monthly downloads which is great for those who are always streaming or downloading movies and music.

Alternatively, Sky offers Broadband Unlimited which is a lower-cost package that still delivers unlimited downloads over an ADSL connection.  Whilst not as fast as Fibre, this is ideal for those just looking for good value and something simple.  As a Sky customer you can also get some great bundle deals, including Sky TV which features brand new TV series, movie premieres and exclusive live sport.

If you take Sky broadband or Sky Fibre you will get the Sky Hub for fast wireless internet access at home. It offers password protected access to ensure that your service cannot be used, and therefore slowed down, by other people in the local area, and it has a useful low power mode which activates when it is not in use.
If you have Sky TV, you’ll use the router to connect to your Sky Q box when you want to access on demand content. It is downloaded to your set-top box over the home broadband connection.

You’ll also have a Sky dish installed if you take Sky TV, and this will normally involve an engineer visit. Setting up your router is something that you can usually do yourself, so if you aren’t taking Sky TV there should be no need for an engineer. Contact Sky directly if you have any further queries about this before purchase.

Customer support comes with every broadband and fibre package from Sky. There is online advice and assistance available, or you can call 03442 411653 to reach a Sky contact centre.

Calls are free for Sky Talk customers, whereas charges may apply from other landline providers.

Under new rules, switching provider is simple.  All you need to do is check that you can get the service at your postcode, then place your order, and then Sky should organise the switch for you via its Switch Squad.

All packages include line rental in the price, as per ASA regulations.

All Sky broadband and fibre customers will get solid internet protection with Sky Broadband Shield, which lets you filter the websites that can be accessed from home. It works on all devices connected to your home set-up, and is easy to use.

You’ll also have Sky Yahoo Email, as well as unlimited access to Sky Wi-Fi hotspots without any extra charge.

The Sky Hub is included, and if you’re choosing Sky TV there is a range of additional features included with the Sky Q box, such as Multiscreen, multiple recordings and downloading your content with the Sky Q App.
 

Sky is available throughout the UK, although some rural areas have limited availability, as is the case with a number of providers. The option of fibre will depend on whether a fibre network has been installed in your area.

For Sky TV, a dish will be installed that will receive and decode the signal. There is a possibility that trees or buildings may be in the way of the most ideal place to install the dish, but the engineer will do everything possible to find an alternative spot, should this be an issue.

What is Sky Fibre?

Sky Fibre delivers superfast fibre-optic broadband in your home. It uses the fibre network to give you much quicker, more reliable connectivity, and is ideal for homes which make heavy use of the internet. With Sky Fibre Unlimited, customers are offered consistently fast speeds with no cap on usage, so you can download as much as you like without worrying about a monthly limit. There are some other impressive benefits included, such as the Sky Hub, and you can take it as a bundle with other services like Sky TV.

How fast is Sky broadband?

With Sky Fibre you can enjoy much faster connectivity, and the advanced technology used allows for a more consistent download speed as well. You’ll still see varying speeds advertised from different providers offering fibre, but with Sky’s service you could get up to 38-40Mbps. This is extremely fast and would let you download an album in less than 30 seconds, whilst a whole movie could take just 5 minutes.

If you take Sky Broadband Lite or Unlimited then it is provided using copper wire, and this is much slower than the fibre-optic network. However, it is still quick enough for those who do not demand too much from their internet, and with Sky you could expect no faster than 17Mbps. It would still probably be slower than this in practice, because the amount of other users in the area, the time of day and your distance from the exchange can, and will, affect the pace of your connection.

What is unlimited broadband?

Unlimited broadband means uncapped usage throughout the month. If there is a cap, such as 2GB, then you can download that amount in total, and that includes loading web pages and streaming video. It all contributes to your usage, so if you choose unlimited then you don’t have to worry about watching how much you browse and download from the web. With Sky you can get the standard broadband or fibre-optic with unlimited usage, and you can bundle this with other Sky services.

Visit http://www.sky.com/ to find out more about Sky.