Broadband Guide

Sky broadband coverage and availability

Updated: Tuesday 1 May, 2012

By Helen Thomas

A leading provider of digital TV packages, Sky (www.sky.com) is also the UK's fastest-growing home broadband and phone provider.

Sky’s own broadband network currently covers more than 70% of the UK and Sky is extending its network to 88% of the UK by June 2013. Sky's own network broadband connection has speeds of up to 14Mb.

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An Ofcom report in Nov 2011 stated that the average download speed for own network connection broadband customers was between 6.8-8.3Mb.

While this is substantially slower than the average download speed for Virgin Media, measured at 17.6-18.7Mb, Sky’s broadband is more widely available across the UK.

In April 2012, Sky launched its fibre optic broadband products offering speeds of up to 38Mb and up to 76Mb. The up to 38Mb service is initially available to 30% of the population, it will become more widely available as BT's fibre network - which Sky is using to deliver its fibre connection - is rolled out across the country. The up to 76Mb service will only be available to new customers and existing customers who do not already have Sky Broadband Unlimited or Sky Fibre Unlimited, but Sky is hoping to change this in the future.

If Sky's fibre broadband isn't available in your area yet, use the Broadbandchoices.co.uk postcode checker to see if BT Infinity or Virgin Media’s cable broadband is already available where you live.

Is Sky broadband the best option for you?

At present Sky has enabled just over 1,600 of the UK’s 5,600 exchanges and this provides Sky’s own network to almost three-quarters of the population.

If your household falls within this area, you will have a wide range of competitively priced broadband packages available to you, offering a choice of download limits and add-ons.

Sky also has an off-network package which provides Sky broadband coverage to the households who fall outside of this area. However this package is significantly more expensive and offers slower download speeds than Sky’s own network packages. The majority of households in this category are situated in rural and more sparsely populated areas of the UK.

Now that Sky has expanded its broadband family to include two fibre packages, it has made itself even more compelling to customers looking for a great triple play deal - providing superfast broadband, a great range of digital TV channels and your home phone and calls package too.

To check whether Sky broadband is available in your area use our postcode checker.

Broadband choices if your postcode is within Sky’s LLU network

If you live in an area serviced by Sky’s own LLU network you will be able to benefit from its best deals for its ADSL broadband. These include the free Broadband Everyday Lite with a 2GB download allowance. This is suitable for light web surfing only - so no gaming or streaming BBC iPlayer. If you want to do more online, you can pay £7.50 a month for Unlimited Broadband with no fair usage or traffic management policies.

For non-Sky TV subscribers a package costing £10 a month for Sky Broadband Unlimited with free evening and weekend landline calls is also available.

And for consumers outside of Sky’s LLU network

Unfortunately the cost of broadband rises steeply if your postcode isn’t covered by Sky’s own network. This gives you broadband with a 40GB usage limit and home phone on Sky’s Broadband Connect package.

All Sky packages have an additional £12.25 per month line rental charge which compares favourably with line rental fees charged by BT and Virgin Media. Customers can also benefit from reduced line rental fees if they pay for 12 months upfront.

In addition to increased monthly broadband cost you will face, maximum download speeds are significantly lower for Sky Broadband Connect customers that for those located within Sky’s own network area.

Broadband download speeds

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All of Sky’s unbundled exchanges are enabled to deliver speeds of up to 14Mb. However, download speeds vary due to a range of factors beyond your control, in particular the distance from your local exchange and the quality of the line between your house and the exchange.

For those of you serviced by Sky’s own network, its packages offer great value and are a great choice for Sky TV customers looking to bundle broadband with other services such as Sky’s HD TV package and Sky Talk landline.

And Sky’s “broadband only” package means non-TV customers can now make the most of Sky’s Unlimited Broadband offer, the only truly unlimited broadband package on the market, without having to pay for digital TV too.

Sky's fibre connections will utilise BT's fibre network and will deliver speeds of up to 38Mb and 76Mb. Initially available to 30% of the country, coverage will increase as BT's fibre network is rolled out to up to two-thirds of the UK by 2014.

For people living in areas outside of Sky’s LLU network the only Sky broadband option is its Connect packages, which come at a significantly higher cost than its LLU packages and may not be the best option.

By taking the best deals from a variety of suppliers, you can make savings against Sky’s Connect packages with providers like Plusnet or Orange. Search for the best alternative deals in your area using our postcode checker.

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