Sky Broadband Review

Sky offer both superfast fibre and gigabit-capable broadband across the UK, with the option for customers to save more by bundling Sky TV.

They have a market-leading customer services record, with the lowest complaints levels in the industry and won our coveted Best Customer Service award in 2022 and 2023.

Customers can choose from a number of service extras, including the new Sky WiFi Max - a whole home WiFi guarantee and updated Max Hub router, which supports WiFi 6.

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At a glance

Latest offers

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Sky broadband customer reviews

Our independent survey of broadband customers found Sky was rated 4 out of 5 overall, with good ratings for Speed, Reliability, Satisfaction, and Customer Service.

Sky was rated average (3 out of 5) for value for money and likelihood for customers to recommend the provider to a friend.

Very few of our survey respondents voted Sky Poor or Bad in any category, with the majority of Sky's customers rating them Average, Good, or Excellent.

Here are the results of our survey of Sky's performance:

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Our review of Sky broadband

Verdict: Is Sky broadband any good?

Sky broadband's biggest selling point is their excellent customer service record, with the lowest complaints levels across the industry for several years.

We also like the fact customers can save around £6 per month by taking Sky broadband with Sky TV services, including on their new Sky Stream platform.

Sky's Speed Guarantee also goes above and beyond voluntary codes of practice, offering customers money back on their broadband bill if speeds fail to deliver.

We've seen recent improvements to Sky broadband too, including the launch of a new WiFi 6 router and updated WiFi guarantee to up to 25Mbps, from the previously paltry 3Mbps. However, customers have to pay £7.50 a month extra for this, while those who don't will get the older Sky Broadband Hub which only offers dual-band WiFi 5.

The new WiFi Max add-on is one of the fastest in the market, sitting alongside Virgin Media's WiFi Max which promises 30Mbps. However, customers on Sky's superfast plans are only guaranteed 10Mbps, so that's worth bearing in mind.

While it's welcome to see Sky offering customers the latest technology, we can't help but think the new Max Hub router could have been more generously provided to full fibre customers as standard.

Overall, Sky remain one of our top choices as a broadband provider namely due to their excellent customer services, winning them our coveted Best Customer Service award for two years running.

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Sky broadband packages

Summary: Sky offer a range of broadband package options from superfast fibre, to full fibre broadband on the Openreach network.

Sky broadband offers superfast fibre to the cabinet connections available to 97% of UK homes, alongside the option of full fibre broadband on the Openreach network with speeds of up to 900Mbps to over 11.5 million premises, or 36% of the UK.

Dependent on availability then, customers can choose from download speeds including 36Mb, 61Mb, 145Mb, 500Mb, and 900Mb.

Here are the latest prices of their widest availability superfast plans:

Setup fees are currently reduced across all Sky broadband packages to just £5, and Sky's Superfast Broadband plan is their cheapest package, even though it's not their slowest.

Sky's Superfast 35 broadband plan was launched in early 2022 as a budget option, yet it's often priced the same, or more than, the faster Superfast plan, so do watch out for that.

The minimum contract term is 18-months across the board, which also matches Sky TV plans making bundling easier, and customers get a home phone line with pay as you go calls included as standard.

While Sky don't state annual price rises specifically, they do increase prices from time to time as well as reserve the right to do so in their contracts, although in 2023 this was less than inflation - unlike the majority of other providers.

Sky Full Fibre broadband

Sky broadband offers three full fibre options; Ultrafast, Ultrafast Plus, and Gigafast. Customers in full fibre enabled areas can also take the slower Superfast 35 and Superfast plans, but will be connected via fibre to the home.

As mentioned, availability is currently around 36% of the UK, although that's constantly growing as BT Openreach adds around 62,000 premises to its network each week.

Here is the latest pricing for Sky full fibre broadband:

Sky Ultrafast was first announced in August 2019, and officially launched in October 2020, although some customers had been able to sign up early. Ultrafast offers average download speeds of 145Mbps and is available to properties on both Openreach full fibre and G.Fast networks.

Sky Ultrafast Plus offers average download speeds of 500Mbps, although is a purely full fibre connection, so availability is slightly less.

Lastly, Sky Gigafast, the provider's fastest broadband package, offers average download speeds of 900Mbps and upload speeds of 90Mbps. It was first launched in April 2022 and like Ultrafast Plus is a pure full fibre connection.

In comparison, Virgin Media is available to over 16 million premises, or 55% of the UK, meaning they currently have wider availability, although this will change as Openreach roll out their full fibre network, with targets of 25 million premises by the end of 2026.

See what's available in your area.

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Price comparison

Summary: Sky are becoming increasingly competitive on price, with broadband deals beginning to rank among the cheapest.

While Sky offer a supposedly budget entry-level 36Mb superfast plan, as we've seen, it's currently more expensive than the faster Superfast package, so we'll skip to comparing that plan on price.

The UK's cheapest broadband deals currently start around the £24-£25 mark, so Sky's Superfast price point of £25 is actually very competitive.

Here's how it looks compare to equivalent broadband packages in the market:

There are only a couple of cheaper options than Sky broadband for the same speeds, including NOW Super Fibre for £24, or Plusnet Fibre at £24.99.

Sky is also cheaper than some other well-known budget providers, including TalkTalk and Plusnet. Sky are also currently cheaper than BT's slower Fibre 1 package which only offers average download speeds of 50Mb and currently costs £30.99 a month.

Here's how Sky's Ultrafast broadband package compares:

Sky is currently cheaper than equivalent plans from rivals TalkTalk and BT. Yet it's still possible to find slightly cheaper deals from Virgin Media and Plusnet.

It is worth noting Sky's customer service record is excellent and excels above any other broadband provider, while providers such as Vodafone, TalkTalk, and Virgin Media tend to gather more complaints.

Overall, while there are cheaper options to Sky, it's worth weighing up customer services and complaints records, as well as how reliable you need your broadband to be.

Lastly, here's some market pricing for equivalent gigabit-capable packages:

Sky Gigafast is priced slightly higher than competitors, despite currently being reduced by £10 per month. Cheaper gigabit-capable deals on the Openreach network can be found with Plusnet and TalkTalk, while BT costs quite a bit more than Sky's Gigafast plan.

For those living in a Virgin Media enabled area, they too can get Virgin's Gig1 package for less than the price of Sky Gigafast.

It's also worth noting for Sky Gigafast customers to get the provider's latest router, they'll need to factor in an extra £7.50 per month for the Sky WiFi Max add-on which includes the latest Sky Max Hub, otherwise all customers get the older Sky Broadband Hub.

Read more on Sky Gigafast and gigabit broadband in our guides.

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Broadband & TV bundles

Summary: Bundling Sky TV can save customers around £6 each month over taking the services separately.

Sky broadband is great on its own owing to their excellent customer service record, yet it can also be bundled with Sky TV for extra discounts.

Savings average around £6 per month for taking both services together, and Sky's new Stream service means it available to even more homes, like those living in flats where installing a satellite dish isn't an option.

Sky TV has some benefits over rival providers including access to their exclusive channel Sky Atlantic, and more exclusive programming in the form of Sky Originals, like Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, and Gangs of London.

Here are the latest prices for Sky TV and broadband:

It's possible to add extra channel packs including Sky Cinema, Sky Sports, TNT Sports, Sky Kids, and on-demand apps like Disney+.

Sky TV also bundles Paramount+ in the Sky Cinema pack, something which isn't yet available on Virgin Media, and all Sky TV customers get Netflix and Discovery+ included too. They also deliver Sky Cinema, Sky Sports and TNT Sports in full 1080p HD as standard.

Compare more Sky TV and broadband bundles.

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Speed

Summary: Sky offers both superfast speeds and the option to take gigabit-capable full fibre broadband, with a Speed Guarantee so customers know what they're getting.

Sky broadband offers superfast, ultrafast and gigafast download speeds, ranging from an average of 36Mb all the way up to 900Mb.

Superfast speeds of 36Mb and 61Mb have the widest availability, with 97% of homes across the UK able to access them.

Sky's Ultrafast and Gigafast plans with speeds of 145Mb, 500Mb, and 900Mb, are currently available to around 36% of homes, but this figure is constantly increasing as Openreach, the network provider, aims to reach over 85% of the UK by the end of 2026.

Here are the speed choices with both average download and upload speeds:

The technology Sky uses to deliver its broadband services includes Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) connections and Fibre to the Home (FTTH) or Full Fibre.

FTTC broadband relies on the copper phone line network to connect a customer's home to the street cabinet. This means the distance a home is from the nearest street cabinet can result in slower broadband speeds, as signal attenuates (decreases) over distance. People living in rural areas are particularly affected by this.

FTTH broadband installs a full fibre line directly into a customer's home. As such, the broadband signal is much stronger and distance isn't an issue to speed or performance. So full fibre broadband often delivers better real-world experiences and a more reliable connection than FTTC broadband.

Where the network Sky uses does have a drawback however, is that even the full fibre broadband lines only offer asymmetrical upload speeds - this means the upload speed is slower than the download speed.

Some full fibre specialists, including Hyperoptic and Community Fibre, offer symmetrical upload speeds, so a gigabit line would offer closer to 900Mb down and 900Mb up.

Sky Speed Guarantee

Sky offer broadband customers a speed guarantee, which promises a minimum download speed, or a customer can claim money back and even leave their contract early.

While Sky's Speed Guarantee is also part of Ofcom's Voluntary Code of Practice on Broadband Speeds, they offer over and above the voluntary code by also giving customer's money back on their broadband bill.

Here are some example minimum speed guarantees for each Sky broadband plan:

These speed estimates and minimum guarantees were taken from a test home in Brighton, and other areas may vary.

Customers who sign up to Sky broadband but then subsequently experience a slower broadband speed than the minimum guaranteed speed for at least three days in a row in a 30-day period can get:

• One month's broadband & phone subscription refunded (excluding call charges)
• If it's within 30 days of activation, upfront setup costs refunded
• Option to switch broadband plan at no extra cost
• Option to leave contract early with no early termination charges at any time within your minimum term

Sky's speed guarantee doesn't start working until 14 days after activation to allow any connections to settle, and customers need to test broadband speed using Sky's My Broadband in their account to qualify.

It's also worth noting customers can only claim money back twice within their minimum term.

The Sky Speed Guarantee is different to Sky's Wall-to-Wall Wifi Guarantee and Sky WiFi Max guarantee, that also offer money back for poor speed performance, that we look at below.

Overall, Sky offer a range of broadband download speeds and provide customers with assurances over the speed they'll receive.

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Sky Broadband Hub

Summary: Sky Broadband Hub is a fairly basic WiFi 5 dual-band router, although an upgrade is available for an extra cost.

While Sky previously dabbled with providing different routers to standalone and TV bundled customers, they've settled on giving all customers a Sky Broadband Hub.

The Sky Broadband Hub is a fairly basic router compared to the latest technology, and offers dual-band wireless up to WiFi 5, or 802.11ac.

WiFi 6 is now the latest protocol, with some providers like Vodafone even offering WiFi 6E routers - the fastest in the UK.

While customers on superfast broadband plans will find the Sky Broadband Hub adequate, customers on gigabit-capable plans might want to consider the WiFi Max add-on which includes the newer Max Hub router.

The Sky Broadband Hub can supposedly support up to 64 devices, and comes with 4 x 1Gb Ethernet LAN ports for any wired connections to gaming consoles or smart TVs.

While the Hub did previously fall foul of a security flaw, but this was remedied by November 2021.

Overall, the Sky Broadband Hub is an adequate piece of kit, but the latest technology, which many providers are starting to offer, makes it look a little dated.

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Sky WiFi Max

Summary: The latest WiFi 6 router and a whole home WiFi guarantee which promises market-leading speeds of up to 25Mbps in every room.

Sky WiFi Max was recently launched in July 2023, and offers a well needed upgrade to the Sky Broadband Boost add-on.

WiFi Max bundles a new WiFi 6 router called the Max Hub, with a whole home WiFi guarantee that promises minimum download speeds of 25Mb per second in every room.

One noteworthy caveat however is the 25Mb promise only applies to Sky broadband customers who take the Ultrafast, Ultrafast Plus, or Gigafast packages. With customers on Superfast 35 or Superfast only promised minimum speeds of 10Mb per second.

Either way, it's still a good WiFi guarantee which replaces the previous Sky Broadband Boost promise of just 3Mb per second.

Where customers don't achieve the minimum speeds over wireless throughout their home, Sky will send them up to 3 WiFi Pods, as well as an engineer visit, and if that still doesn't work, they'll refund customers one month's broadband subscription.

WiFi Max customers will also get the previous extras included in Sky Broadband Boost, as well as advanced security via the updated MySky app:

• Daily line checks to ensure your connection is working, with automatic fixes if Sky detect any issues
• Free off-peak engineer visits (evenings and weekends) at no extra cost
• 2GB free data on Sky Mobile if your broadband connection goes down

Customers who don't take the WiFi Max add-on will still get the Wall-to-Wall WiFi guarantee included for free, which promises minimum speeds of 3Mbps in every room or one month's broadband subscription refunded.

At the time of writing, Sky WiFi Max isn't yet compatible with Sky Q, so new and existing Sky Q and broadband customers can still access the older Sky Broadband Boost for £6 per month instead.

Read more about whole home WiFi guarantees and how they work.

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Home phone: Sky Talk

Summary: All Sky broadband packages come with a home phone line as standard, including their full fibre plans.

While many full fibre broadband providers are making a home phone an optional extra with an additional cost, or some providers like TalkTalk and Plusnet removing the option altogether, Sky are keeping with tradition and offering a phone line as standard on all their packages.

Sky Talk comes with pay as you go calls, but customers can upgrade for an inclusive call plan including free calls in the evening and at weekends, or free anytime calls.

Here's how much the call plans currently cost:

All home phone packages include calls to UK mobiles as well as landlines and, like other providers, Sky limits free calls to 60 minutes, though customers can hang up and dial again.

Evenings start at 7pm and end at 7am Monday to Friday, and so weekends run from Friday 7pm to Monday at 7am.

While Sky have previously lowered the price of their calls plans in recent years, they rose again in 2023, including for out of allowance calls, which are now charged at:

• UK landlines: 25p per minute
• UK mobiles: 25p per minute
• 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers: 15p per minute plus Service Charge

Connection fees of 25p may be applied unless you're on free, inclusive or unlimited call packages. These fees will not apply to calls that start within an uncharged period but end during a charged one.

Switching from an existing provider to Sky is free if the current phone line is compatible. Otherwise, you may need to pay £20 for line installation. Find out more about getting a new line installed here.

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Parental controls

Summary: Sky Broadband Shield protects both young users as well as everyone else from malware, phishing and viruses.

Sky offer all broadband customers router-level parental controls called Sky Broadband Shield.

However, Sky Shield offers more than just the ability to filter the Internet for children, it also helps protect users from phishing and malware sites. As a result, it's on by default for new customers.

Parental control is automatically activated when you sign up with Sky broadband. The standard setting is suitable for teenagers during the day and those over 18 later in the evening.

These settings are easily customised. You can choose a general rating of PG, 13 or 18, along with setting age-related restrictions on content at specific times of day.

Specific websites can be blocked via these settings and using Safe Search means that adult content will also be blocked in image search results.

Customers can turn off Sky's parental controls entirely by signing into broadbandshield.sky.com (using their Sky ID), scrolling down and finding the 'switch off' option. Blocked websites should be viewable in about 15 minutes.

We've got a full guide to how Sky Broadband Shield works.

We've also got more information the effectiveness of parental controls and the different parental control options offered by UK broadband providers.

Broadband Buddy app

The Sky Broadband Buddy app was a downloadable app for mobiles and tablets that enabled Sky customers to create different filters and activity times for different devices to connected to Sky broadband.

It's handy for families who want to limit screen time or set more solid routines. Users can see which devices are online, set regular/repeating time limits and use custom filters for different family members.

However new downloads for the app were paused in May 2022 and so far, it's unclear whether or not Sky is planning to replace it.

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Customer service

Summary: Sky are our top pick for customer service, winning Best Customer Service in the Choose Broadband Awards 2023, and consistently having the lowest complaints figures.

Sky won the Best Customer Service award at the Choose Broadband Awards 2023.

They have low complaint figures and, if complaints do occur, customers are more satisfied with the outcome from Sky than any other broadband provider.

The latest complaints figures released by Ofcom for Q2 2023 show Sky were the least complained about provider, with only 5 complaints per 100,000 customers, less than half the industry average of 12 for that quarter.

As complaints trends for the previous six years show, Sky have a consistently excellent record, registering less than half the industry average each year.

Sky also have a good record in other customer service metrics as we explore in our full guide to broadband customer service.

Here are some key metrics compared to industry averages:

While Sky are close to the industry average on several measures, they pull ahead when it comes to complaint handling and getting complaints sorted on first contact.

Coupled with low overall complaint rates, that's a good sign for potential Sky customers. It's also important to highlight that Sky's good complaints record doesn't just encompass broadband - they also have the lowest TV complaints, the lowest landline complaints and the joint lowest mobile complaints for 2022 too.

Sky offer 24/7 technical support online via Live Chat, Facebook Messenger and by email. Customers can also contact them by SMS. Sky's call centre is based in the UK.

People who would prefer to speak to Sky directly, can call their dedicated customer service phone lines, and calls are free of charge from a Sky Talk landline.

The Sky number is an 03 number, so it is often included in mobile call plans, meaning that calls won't cost premium rates if the landline isn't working.

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Summary: Should you choose Sky broadband?

Sky broadband is a good option for households who want a reliable connection with decent speed assurances and excellent customer service if they run into any problems.

It's not the absolute cheapest broadband in the market, but new customer offers are very competitive, and Sky's untarnished complaints record provides value for money for the slight increase in price over budget providers.

One of the biggest strings in Sky's bow however is the ability to bundle Sky TV, with discounts available for those taking their new streaming service Sky Stream or a Sky Glass set.

Both TV options bundled with Sky broadband provide a discount of around £6 per month over taking the services separately.

It's also really good to see Sky updating their whole home WiFi guarantee, and at least making available an updated router, even if customers have to pay more for it.

Drawbacks to Sky broadband?

There aren't many, but as mentioned, even customers on the fastest plans will have to pay extra for the latest router, or they'll be provided the older Sky Broadband Hub, which only supports dual-band WiFi 5, and is no longer the latest tech.

Considering the previous Sky Broadband Boost cost £6 per month, Sky would do better to include their newer router as standard with their full fibre plans, especially considering Sky Stream and Sky Glass support WiFi 6.

Overall, Sky are one of our top choices for broadband provider owing to their excellent customer service and low complaints records, coupled with the ability to save money on TV bundles.

Read more on how Sky compares to Virgin Media, and how Sky compares to BT.