Sky broadband

To make an informed choice about switching to Sky broadband, take a look at these customer reviews.

Sky phone number

Call Sky on 0844 241 1407 to switch, or call 08442 414 141 if you are an existing customer.

About Sky broadband

Sky (www.Sky.com) offers two ADSL broadband packages that can be combined with Sky's satellite TV service, Sky TV, and its home phone service, Sky Talk. The Broadband Lite and Broadband Unlimited packages offer download speeds of up to 14Mb, and the Broadband Connect package, for those living outside the Sky broadband network, offers speeds of up to 8Mb broadband.

Sky's broadband network is available to 82% of the UK's population, increasing to 90% by June 2015.

You can get broadband from Sky without signing up to Sky TV, although only with the Unlimited package. You must pay Sky line rental of £14.50 per month on all Sky broadband package, but you might be able to save money by bundling Sky broadband with a Sky Talk calls package.

Sky free broadband

The Broadband Lite package is essentially free broadband for those with Sky TV and Sky Talk, and it has a monthly download allowance of 2GB. If you are an occasional internet user this is a great way to save money on broadband. However, a 2GB allowance is fairly low, so this package won't be suitable for anyone who likes to stream TV, watch movies or play games online.

Truly unlimited broadband

On the other hand, the Sky Broadband Unlimited package is one of the UK's only truly unlimited broadband packages, with no fair usage policy or traffic management. It is perfect if you really want to make the most of the internet as there is no risk of excess charges or throttling of your bandwidth due to intensive online activities such as downloading high-definition films or playing multiplayer online games.

Sky fibre optic broadband

In April 2012, Sky launched its first fibre optic broadband packages. Sky Fibre Unlimited and Sky Fibre Unlimited Pro offer speeds of up to 38Mb and up to 76Mb - three and six times the average UK broadband speed of 12.7Mb.

Sky fibre Unlimited is currently available to 30% of the UK's population, but as the service uses the BT (www.BT.com) fibre broadband network, coverage will increase as BT expands its network. As with Sky Broadband Unlimited, Sky Fibre Unlimited and Sky Fibre Unlimited Pro offer truly unlimited downloads, with no usage caps and no traffic management at peak times.

Sky Fibre Unlimited Pro is currently only available to new customers and existing ones not already on Sky Broadband Unlimited or Sky Fibre Unlimited. However, Sky says it is working on making Sky Fibre Unlimited Pro available to Sky Broadband Unlimited and Sky Fibre Unlimited customers too.

Sky broadband fixed IP

At present Sky only assign dynamic IP addresses - an identifying code for your computer that changes each time you access the internet. If you run a website from your computer, want to operate a gaming server or to access your computer remotely, you will need a fixed IP. In this case you may need to consider a different provider such as BE broadband.

Sky broadband benefits

Sky is perhaps best known for its satellite TV service. However, its range of broadband packages includes a "free broadband" package, one of the UK's few truly unlimited broadband packages and a range of fibre broadband options.

Certain Sky broadband packages give customers unlimited wireless broadband access at thousands of hotspots in bars, cafes, restaurants and train sations across the country at no extra cost via Sky WiFi.

For detailed customer reviews of Sky broadband check out our Sky broadband customer reviews.

Sky broadband awards & accreditations

• Which? - Customer satisfaction survey 2011: Sky picked up an average rating of 56%, scoring well in ease of set up and value for money

Our expert's verdict

Michael Phillips, broadbandchoices managing director, said: "The flexibility offered by Sky's broadband-only option means that it now appeals to many new customers who want a fast, reliable and truly unlimited package, without having to sign-up for digital TV as well.

"Having said that, it is also a great choice if you're looking to bundle your broadband with other services, and Sky offers the UK's biggest selection of high-definition channels with its digital TV service and HD Pack."