Moving from Now Broadband to Sky?

loopylops4

Hi, I was wondering if anyone can offer advice or information…

My contract with Now Broadband ends in about 2 weeks. There are some good deals on offer with Sky and I didn't know whether it was possible to move from Now to Sky as a new customer. Now is owned ('powered') by Sky, and all the interface on my account page and app is Sky.

But when I go to a comparison website (including MSE) and I'm asked for my address and current provider (Now), they come up with deals from Sky!

The contact number for my Now account is a Sky number and when I've rung no one has explicitly said I can't move from Now to Sky and get new customer deals - they just say Now is a separate 'sister' company.

I think the companies themselves and comparison sites should make this clear.

flaneurs_lobster

The contact number for my Now account is a Sky number and when I've rung no one has explicitly said I can't move from Now to Sky and get new customer deals - they just say Now is a separate 'sister' company.

Well maybe you should ask the explicit question - "Can I get a new customer deal if I move from Now?".

Exodi

I'm not sure you'll get a decisive answer to this - but my gut feeling is it wouldn't matter.

Maybe to play it ultra safe, you could move to Vodafone now (as they always usually run very good new customer offers), and then switch to Sky after?

loopylops4

Thanks for comments.

When I rang yesterday I was put on hold for ages and then told 'the best' they could offer was £36 a month. This is not as good as going through a third party. And I presume this is just a continuation of the Now/Sky contract I'm on.

In the first year of my contract, when prices were hiked in April and Now/Sky allow you to get out without cancellation fee, I did try going through a comparison site but it didn't work.

So I guess the answer is no I can't move from one to the other as a new customer. My point is really why isn't this information made clear.

I'd rather keep with a big name provider and with Open Reach - I think I would need a new cabling system to move to Vodafone.

Although there are lots of new smaller providers on the scene, there aren't so many well known names now Talk Talk seems to be in trouble.

I think the whole thing is a rip off. Most contracts are 2 year, with mid contract price hikes (how is that allowable!) and good deals only for new customers. And yet BT, EE and Plusnet have now introduced a £30 or £20 activation fee for new customers!

Exodi

loopylops4

I'd rather keep with a big name provider and with Open Reach - I think I would need a new cabling system to move to Vodafone.

Sorry, is Vodafone not a big name provider? They are effectively the joint 4th largest supplier of broadband?

And no, common misunderstanding - BT, Plusnet, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone and many others - all run on the same Open Reach lines. Due to this, most of the time switches between these companies they won't even see an engineer and might only realise the switch has occurred because they get a text telling them so. Virgin and Starlink are some of the few exceptions that run their own physical networks.

This sort of inertia is why BT continues to be the top dog, despite charging the most. Too many people leaning on the name, not realising or caring to notice that the others would provide exactly the same service on exactly the same lines. No different with British Gas, same pipes, same gas, but people happy to pay a premium simply because of the name.

It reads as if this thread was intended as a vent, rather than to ask any sort of question or discussion topic. It might be better placed in the https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/praise-vent-warnings subforum.

QrizB

To confirm, my Vodafone broadband comes over the same copper cable that BT installed 30 years ago. I've used it with maybe a dozen different ISPs over the years.

If we had Openreach FTTP then the fibre they installed would be usable with BT, Vodafone, Sky, Talktalk etc.

redux

I used Topcashback to switch from Now to Sky in May 2025, with cashback and voucher.

I think I also did it, or maybe the other way, or maybe even both ways consecutive, about 10 years ago, but I can't find the details in my email history

Your description sounds like they might be a bit more aligned now, for instance I didn't have Now looking like Sky when logged in

If your comparison site has cashback, and it it's giving Sky in search results, you might read the small print terms to see what would cause cashback not to be paid. If it's not specifically excluded, it might be worth a try

loopylops4

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82107713#Comment_82107713

I didn't say Vodafone wasn't a big provider, and in my area they use City Fibre not Open Reach.

You say 'this type of inertia', which has nothing to do with my remarks. I don't wish to go with a new provider I know nothing about (and have them go bust after a year), nor would I use BT as they are overpriced.

You call a 'vent' objections I raise which are precisely the opposite of inertia: 2 year contracts & mid contract price hikes and now this new activation fee.

loopylops4

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82108638#Comment_82108638

Thank you very much for this, I hadn't considered Topcashback so will look into it.