Sky broadband review

Sky broadband deals review

In this review

• Sky broadband deals
• Sky broadband ummary
• Sky broadband features
• Types of Sky broadband explained
• Sky TV and broadband
• What Sky TV channels can I get?
• What are the current Sky TV packages?
• Sky broadband speeds
• Sky Q Hub
• Positive reasons to buy Sky broadband
• Potential negatives with using Sky broadband
• Sky broadband rating

Summary

Sky offers a range of fibre and ADSL broadband options with excellent options for adding TV streaming and on-demand entertainment packages to your overall package. They are arguably one of the best broadband providers for integrated entertainment package options and you also have the option of subscribing for Netflix through your Sky package and receiving Netflix content directly to your Sky Q box.

They are one of the largest telco companies in the UK with millions of customers on their fixed land and mobile networks, but is Sky broadband any good?

Read our in depth review to find out more.

Features

As is standard with most broadband providers you will be faced with the option of choosing ADSL or the faster fibre broadband option at Sky. Home landlines are included as part of the overall broadband cost and so is the cost of the award winning Sky router (although there is often a connection charge).

Where Sky comes into its own is the integration between broadband, landline and TV so that you can pick and choose the options that best suit you.

Types of Sky broadband explained

There are currently two fibre broadband options and one standard broadband option.

Sky TV and broadband

One of the great benefits of subscribing to Sky broadband is that you can pair it with Sky Q and add the TV viewing package of your choice. Alternatively there is even the option of doing without a Sky dish entirely and signing up for Sky Stream. Read all about it in our Sky Stream review.

Sky offer a large range of TV packages that can be added or removed so that you can find the TV package that suits your viewing habits best – be that sports, movies, entertainment, kids or all of the above!

You will be viewing Sky TV channels via a satellite connection but there are a range of catch-up TV services that will require the use of your broadband to download the programming onto your Sky Q box so when choosing your broadband option bear in mind the Sky broadband speed you would ideally need to stream content and the number of devices that might be sharing the connection. The more devices that are accessing the broadband connection at the same time, the more chance that there could be decreased speeds across the network.

What Sky TV channels can I get?

Sky Entertainment

Sky Entertainment is the core viewing package that is included with a Sky TV package. There are currently over 300 channels to choose from with 60 catch-up TV channels also.

Channel highlights include:

Asia Channels

StarPlus
StarGold
Star Bharat
Zee TV
Zee Cinema
Sony ETV
Sony SAB
Sony Max
Sony Mix
MTV Beats
B4U Movies
B4U Music
Rishtey Europe
Rishtey Cineplex
Colors
Zing
News 18
&TV
Living Foodz

Sky box sets bundle

There are over 400 different box sets which can be viewed on demand including UK and US shows – adults and kids TV show viewing including. Box sets are a 31 day contract so you have the flexibility to start and stop with little notice required.

Complete Sky TV package

You could subscribe to all of the above channels as part of a full Sky subscription package.

All new TV subscriptions now include the Sky Q as standard with a choice between the type of Sky Q box you require and whether you want to include a multiscreen element into the package i.e. you want to view Sky in various rooms around the house.

What are the current Sky TV packages?

Sky TV, HD & Ultra HD

Brighter, bolder picture quality with HD and Ultra HD

Sky TV & Multiscreen

Watch on multiple screens throughout your home. Pause in one room, play in another

Sky TV, HD, Ultra HD & Multiscreen

Enjoy HD quality TV on multiple screens throughout your home

Sky TV & Netflix

Sky TV and Netflix in one place, your Sky Q box

Sky TV & Sky Cinema

Watch exclusive movies before anyone else does. Enjoy a wide range of movies in HD

Sky TV & Sky Sports

Unmissable Sky TV programmes and more premier football games than ever before as well as Cricket, Golf, Formula 1 and more

Sky TV, Netflix & Sky Sports

Combining the best entertainment channels with popular Netflix programmes and the sport you love to watch

Big Bundle

Sky TV, Sky Cinema, Sky Sports, Sky Kids and Netflix in HD, Ultra HD and Multiscreen

Build you own bundle

Start with the Sky TV channels and add as much or as little as you like from Cinema, Sports and Kids

What contract lengths are on offer for Sky TV?

Sky TV minimum term is 18 months. To cancel your subscription you will need to give Sky 31 days notice unless you are within your cooling off period. Cancelling a Sky TV subscription before the contract end date might incur an early termination charge.

Broadband speeds

Sky broadband is offered as an ADSL option (known as Essential), a Sky Superfast fibre option or a Sky Ultrafast fibre broadband option. With Sky Essential broadband you will receive an average 11Mbps download speed, the Sky Superfast broadband averages downloads at 59Mbps and the Sky Ultrafast broadband gives an average download speed of 145Mbps.

As most people who choose Sky as their broadband provider plan to stream or download TV content from the Sky entertainment platform it makes most sense to opt for the Superfast broadband option which means you won’t be waiting long for programs to download onto your planner and you will be able to connect multiple devices to your broadband (wired or wirelessly) with no drop in line speed at home.

A further Sky benefit is that their broadband is unlimited which means you can stream content, download and browse the Internet without worrying about any cap to your data usage. So you know there will be no extra data penalties applied to your broadband bill.

Sky Q Hub

The Sky Q Hub is the wireless router you will receive from Sky regardless of the broadband plan you decide to buy and it is a well featured modern wireless router.

It features dual-band 802.11ac technology which is much improved versus its predecessor hub along with connections on both the 5GHz and 2.4GHz frequencies whereas their previous router didn’t offer 5GHz. If you are looking to use wired connections to the Hub you can make use of Gigabit Ethernet although for some reason Sky decided to cut the number of ports from 4 down to only 2, perhaps with a view to keeping the device as small as possible.

Where the Sky Q Hub comes into its own is through its integration with the Sky Q TV service. For example if you have a Sky Q set top box and Sky Q mini boxes throughout your home they will now act as wireless repeaters which means you are greatly enhancing the wireless broadband signal throughout your house.

Therefore, if you plan to subscribe to a Sky Q television package with multiroom Sky Q mini boxes in addition to your Sky broadband you will find that you’re get excellent wireless coverage around the home when compared with other broadband providers. This can be a real bonus if there will be multiple devices connecting to the Internet in different rooms throughout your home.

So for wireless coverage the Sky Q Hub is hard to beat.

Sky broadband positives and negatives

Positive reasons to buy Sky broadband

• Sky is an established provider of high quality broadband services in the UK. They are now the second largest broadband operator with over 6 million subscribers.
• Sky Fibre Unlimited and Sky Fibre Max offer unlimited usage and speedy average download speeds at 36Mb and 58Mb respectively.
• Sky use the BT Openreach infrastructure to provide broadband so coverage is excellent across the UK.
• All Sky broadband customers receive free wi-fi with hotspot point available in many towns and cities.
• Sky do not operate a traffic management system on their broadband so when coupled with unlimited usage, Sky broadband constitutes a very good option for high volume Internet users such as gamers and those that stream content regularly.
• Sky Shield comes as standard free of charge with broadband contracts. This acts as a shield against malware and phishing and allows the bill holder to setup age ratings on content, block certain sites and select watershed hours (across devices on the broadband network).
• Sky are known for their excellent digital TV offering so TV, call and broadband packages are often excellent value and offer high quality service.
• By taking out a Sky bundle various equipment will work across different services. For example, if you take out Sky Q, the Sky Q Hub provides 3x faster speeds than previous routers and they will act as hotspots in the home to help improve wi-fi speed and coverage throughout the house.
• All new Sky bundle customers taking out TV and broadband receive the Sky Q box which offers the latest in on-demand set top box viewing and includes Ultra HD viewing.
• Sky broadband is competitively priced and there are often exclusive online sky offers to be had.
• Sky Go is a useful option as it allows for you to stream Sky TV content via your broadband to other Internet capable devices such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops or games consoles.
• According to Ofcom, Sky has among the lowest number of customer complaints within the broadband sector.

Potential negatives with using Sky broadband

• It is a Sky requirement that a landline must be taken out with them in order to use their broadband (this is usually the case but there are a small number of providers that do not stipulate this).
• Broadband contracts are usually for 18 months. The shortest contract is 12 months for the Sky Broadband Unlimited (10Mb average download speed) option.
• If taking out broadband in conjunction with a TV package it is a requirement that a satellite dish be erected on the property which can be unsightly.

Sky broadband rating

By Laurie Walker – 4.5 out of 5.