Broadband Providers

Sky Free Broadband

Sky now offeres more than satellite TV; in the past year they have added a range of products that allow customers to make even more savings. You can now get your home phone and broadband from Sky, with a choice of “free” broadband or speeds of up to 16Mb. (Visit www.sky.com)

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Read our review of UK "Free broadband" offers - are they worth it?

Sky broadband packages

Supplier	Package details	Speed (up to)	1st year cost	Monthly charge	Download limit	Go
	Base Broadband + Sky TV (1 Pack) + Talk Freetime	2Mb	£228.00	£16.50	2GB
	Everyday Broadband + Sky TV (1 Pack) + Talk Freetime	10Mb	£288.00	£21.50	10GB
	Broadband Connect + Sky TV (1 Pack) + Talk Freetime	8Mb	£432.00	£33.50	40GB

Is their free broadband really free?

Obviously you can’t just sign up for the free broadband and never pay anything to Sky. To take any Sky broadband package you have to be a Sky TV customer, so you essentially pay for your broadband through your TV subscription. And you’ll also have to pay an installation fee - the standard cost of this is £30 but there are often special offers available that can reduce this cost.

What do I get with their free broadband?

If you sign up for free Sky broadband with your digital TV you’ll get a connection of up to 2Mb, and a free wireless router. However, your usage will be capped at only 2GB, so unless you only use your broadband for everyday surfing, with little or no downloading, you’ll probably want to increase this.

What are my other options?

If you want a faster connection, or a higher download limit, you can choose to pay for your Sky broadband. For an additional £5 a month you get an up to 8Mb connection and a download limit of 40GB - more than adequate for all but the biggest downloaders, or for an additional £10 a month you can have up to 16Mb and an “unlimited” download allowance, although this is subject to a fair usage policy.

What else do I get?

As well as being able to take advantage of special offers and money off on installation, Sky offers all customers a free wireless router - allowing you to connect up to four computers using ethernet cables, and many more wirelessly.

All Sky broadband customers also get a year’s free use of the McAfee internet security suite for PCs, worth £49.99 or the McAfee VirusScan software for Mac users, worth £19.99.

Sky also offers 24-hour technical support and 10 free email addresses.

Can I bundle my Sky products?

Because you have to take Sky TV in order to get their broadband anyway, it makes sense to go for a bundle. Sky’s popular See Speak Surf package costs £26 a month, for which you get their Entertainment TV package with all six mixes, up to 8Mb broadband and Sky Talk Freetime, which offers free UK evening and weekend calls.

Customers wanting to take this package but boost their broadband can choose to pay extra to get the up to 16Mb broadband instead.

There are also a load of other bundling options available to incorporate premium channels like Sky Sports and Sky Movies, and different phone and broadband packages so check out their website for all the latest deals.

However, you will have to have a BT landline in order to get Sky broadband so remember this when working out costs, and make sure that you allow for the additional £11 a month that this will cost you.

Is Sky broadband for me?

Use our Broadband Comparison Calculator to find out if Sky broadband is available in your area, and to compare it against other offers on the market.

Remember though, that with the digital switchover starting next month, everyone will soon have to think about switching to digital. If you haven’t done so yet, taking a Sky TV package with their broadband might be the right choice for you. If you do decide to go with Sky you’ll also need to bear in mind the fact that if you decide to cancel your TV service at any point, your broadband will be affected too.

Click here to see the latest offers on the Sky website (www.Sky.com).