Sky Broadband review

Our brief review of Sky Broadband

Sky is fast gaining traction as one of the UK’s go-to TV and broadband providers – and for good reason. The company has built a reputation for keeping its packages simple with prices that remain competitive. Their customer service has also been deemed to be quite the cut above the rest and it’s with this reason alone that many broadband users are switching over to their service. This means that it’s worth researching Sky to see if it’s the right choice for you.

We've had an in-depth look at the company’s offerings and answered a few questions that many consumers ask when it comes to considering a new broadband provider.

Sky broadband speed review: How fast is it?

Like with many other broadband providers, Sky runs its service on the Openreach telephone network. This means the broadband speeds are similar to most other internet service providers. To keep things uncomplicated, however, they only offer the choice of six speeds – 11Mbps ADSL broadband, and 35Mbps, 59Mbps, 145Mbps, 500Mbps and 900Mbps fibre broadband.

These speeds have been used to create different package options with the most basic ones being the Broadband Essential, Broadband Superfast, and Broadband Ultrafast. What’s important to note is that both options offer unlimited usage – so there’s no usage cap or traffic management to slow your speeds (bonus).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sky broadband price review: How much does it cost?

As we mentioned, Sky’s prices are pretty competitive and you’ll get good value for your money. Let's see how Sky's broadband prices compare to rival providers:

Deals	Plusnet price	BT equivalent package price	Virgin Media equivalent package price	TalkTalk equivalent package price
Essential Broadband Plus (11Mbps)	£30	£27.99	N/A	£24.95
Superfast 35 Broadband (36Mbps)	£25	£28.99	N/A	£25
Superfast Broadband (59Mbps)	£28	£29.99	£38	£26
Ultrafast Broadband (145Mbps)	£32	£35.99	£44	£29.95
Ultrafast Broadband Plus (500Mbps)	£42	£45.99	£62	£39
Gigafast Broadband (900Mbps)	£52	£55.99	£60	£49

*Prices correct as of September 2022.

A premium router is provided at no additional cost (no matter which package you choose) and set-up fees are a one-off £9.95. There's an additional upfront installation cost for TV bundles. 

Depending on your contract terms, an exit fee may apply. Early termination charges will vary between users and will depend on:

• How many days are left in your contract term;
• How many days you have already been billed for in advance and;
• The type of package you subscribed to.

For more information on Sky's exit fees, check out page on how to cancel Sky broadband.

What makes Sky stand out?

One of Sky’s biggest advantages is that it offers a complete home entertainment solution under one roof. From watching your favourite series and sports games to gaming online and phoning your friends and family – the company allows you to get everything sorted for one monthly price and with one point of contact for support.

This ISP also has a few other notable stand-out features that are worthy of a mention.

• 100+ channels and 500+ box sets. Sky’s TV service has a huge amount of live and on-demand content. You can even watch on the move using the Sky Go app.
• Sky Hub and Sky Q Hub. Sky offers two routers, the Hub and the Sky Q Hub. The latter has the advantage that it can turn Sky Q TV boxes into Wi-Fi access points (which means that wireless signals can be extended).
• Cloud Wi-Fi hotspots. All Sky users will have access to the thousands of free Wi-Fi access spots that dot the country.

Sky broadband review: Installation and equipment

If you already have a suitable phone line installed, then your Sky broadband will be ready for use in about two weeks from the time of order. If you still need to get a phone line activated, then you can expect the process to be delayed.

What’s great about Sky is that you can track each step of your order online – which means you’ll continuously be kept in the loop.

Once your order has been approved, you’ll be sent your free router (postage fees may apply). Once you receive the router, then you will be requested to set it up yourself (or you can outsource to an IT provider). Setting up the router is easy, however, and Sky will send step-by-step instructions to help you.

Customer Experience: How is Sky rated by customers?

Sky has a very good customer rating overall.  In fact, according to Ofcom, it has the highest percentage of customer satisfaction of any fixed-line broadband provider in the UK. This is certainly quite a feat and an encouraging deciding factor.

The customer service centre is conveniently open seven days a week and you can communicate via live chat, email, or you can give them a call. So, if you do stumble onto a problem, you can expect instant assistance.