In praise of Sky

tacpot12

My partner and I decided that we needed to upgrade our broadband. We were with NowTV on an ADSL connection getting 18Mbps download during the day and 9Mbps in the evening and at weekends. Upload speed was 1Mbps max. We were paying £36 per month and had the free Anytime calls on the phoneline, but weren't using the line very often. The WiFi was pretty patchy in our Victorian house with its thick walls.  

Having looked at all the options, I found that we were only able to get a VDSL/FTTC service. No full fibre/FTTP service is available from any supplier. Most ISPs have switched their 'fixed' tarrifs to include an annual increase at CPI+ N%. Only Sky and NowTV have an annual increase that is not linked to CPI. 

Sky's offer was for an internet-based phone service, and by dropping the free Anytime calls option, we were able to get a 70Mbps broadband and phone service for £25 per month. 

The switchover went exactly as planned; possibly benefitting from the fact that NowTV is a Sky subsidiary and they share the same infrastructure. 

We are now getting 70Mbps during the day and at least 36Mbps in the evenings and at weekends. Upload speed has gone upto 18Mbps at all times. 

The internet-phone service is great. Calls are perfectly clear. We had to have a new phone number, but very few people call us on the landline, just a couple of older family members, and we have reprogrammed their mobile and DECT phones so they don't have to remember the new number.

WiFi service inside the house is much better. This was the main reason we switched to Sky rather than upgrading with NowTV. Sky's new hub has better WiFi and the jack for the home phone. 

So far I'm impressed. 

Trace-T

Thinking of switching to Sky myself. Can I ask which hub did you get? Is it the newest, white one?

tacpot12

I went for the "Sky Broadband Hub" which is black. It's not the white "Sky Max" Hub that has WiFi 6 as this cost extra and I was fairly confident (having read reviews of the ordinary hub) that the WiFi would be better than the NowTV hub.

Trace-T

Thanks @tacpot12
Both your posts have helped me make the decision to switch!

IvanOpinion

I have been with Sky for 25 years. Their service has been highly reliable (I have only experienced 2 outages, lasting a couple of days each) and gives the speeds promised. My only complaint is that at the end of a deal I always have to phone up to get a better price than offered at renewal.

My best tip is that at renewal immediately ask for 'retentions', they seem to be based in the UK and can do more than the normal call centre which I think is in India.