Sky saying problem at exchange means I can't have phone/BB

jd87

I've had a Sky TV installation today and while the installer was here it emerged that my Sky Line rental and Broadband activation had been "rejected". I've spoken to Sky and they are saying "major works" are required at the exchange or something and they can't provide me with their Phone or Broadband. They said I should contact BT for more information.

All of this is despite the fact that Sky is fully LLU active at my exchange. So who do I speak to at BT to find out what's going on? What number should I call and has anyone heard of this sort of problem before?

Heinz

Perhaps the Sky equipment at the exchange is full and they cannot (or will not) expand it?

macman

What exchange are you on?

Mark_In_Hampshire

You don't speak to BT, they have nothing to do with it. You speak to Sky: if you ordered three services, and they're only prepared to supply one of them, do you want to keep it, or forget the whole thing?

Is this the Poplar exchange by any chance?

jd87

The exchange is Royston, Hertfordshire.

I think we can get Sky Broadband and Calls, it's just the line rental we can't have. I want the TV still so there's no point me threatening to cancel the whole thing, especially as we can't get Virgin.

Mark_In_Hampshire

I know Royston - used to live in WGC, very pleasant

The one thing to check is that you'll be on Sky's LLU broadband service, not the "Connect" (?) one which is the resold BT product.

Have they explained why they can't do the line rental? Seems very odd. LLU broadband does get "full" to capacity, but line rental doesn't. The Samknows website isn't reporting anything special about the Royston exchange.

macman

Sky is LLU for Royston, Herts, according to samknows.
But so is 02 which would be a much better option.
Sky's explanation makes no sense, call them back and talk to someone who has a clue.

withabix

If you can have the phone and broadband but not line rental via Sky, that suggests that their equipment is full at Royston, so they are offering you a BT Wholesale service.

If you end up paying the same (which you will, near enough), what's the problem?

Mark_In_Hampshire

The problem is with something called BRAS profiling which attempts to react to instability on phone lines (which were never designed to carry data like this, and it shows) by raising and lowering something called the IP Profile.

That (partly) determines your speed. BT kit is nowhere near as efficient at reacting to changes as LLU kit like O2's is and can have a tendency to over-react and drop speeds or "get stuck" at lower profiles.

Plus, if you take the BT Wholesale broadband, which I think is called Sky Connect, what you're getting is essentially resold BT Broadband, not Sky broadband.

The differences won't make an iota of difference to someone who just checks web pages and reads email, but will make some difference to people who demand a bit more of their connection and particularly those on "long lines" (no precise definition, but where the length of wire to the exchange is more than say 2km - data and phone lines don't really go together over any distance)

jd87

I'm going to take bt line rental and then take o2 broadband. It all works out about the same cost anyway, just annoying having 3 separate bills. So based on all the information available o2 broadband will be fine on my line?

macman

Yes, as long as O2 have LLU capacity on that exchange.