Streaming videos, online gaming and working from home: just a few of the activities we’re using the internet for everyday. With speeds up to 900Mbps, Sky fibre optic broadband is a great choice for heavy-use households.
You can download games and play them with people the other side of the world or watch great movies. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
All these things have one thing in common: they demand fast download speeds and lots of data. Enter fibre optic broadband. Sky Fibre offers great speeds and truly unlimited downloads. It’s a great choice if you use the internet intensively, live in a large household, or simply want the fastest and most reliable connection.
Plus, if you have Sky TV, having a fibre broadband service can greatly enhance your experience. It’ll give you access to catch-up TV, tons of shows on demand and more – all in the best picture quality possible.
In this guide, we’ll take a look at the fibre packages you can get from Sky, how you get them, and what’s both good and bad about them.
What is FTTP broadband?
FTTP stands for ‘fibre to the premises’. It’s a type of broadband connection that’s wired directly to your home, rather than to a cabinet that services the area (FTTC, or ‘fibre to the cabinet’).
While FTTC broadband routes fibre optic lines to the cabinet, it uses slower copper cables to cover the remaining distance between your home and the cabinet.
In comparison, FTTP broadband uses only fibre optic cables straight to your home, which means it can deliver data at speeds thousands of times faster than copper cables. So, an FTTP connection is much faster and a lot more reliable.
The only problem is that FTTP isn’t as widely available, and it’s usually a lot more expensive than standard ADSL and FTTC.
Still, providers are rolling out FTTP across their networks, so it’s always worth checking to see if you can get it at your address.
For more on the difference between FTTC and FTTP, take a look at our comprehensive guide.
How fast is Sky’s FTTP broadband?
Sky now offers full fibre broadband with speeds averaging between 145Mbps to 900Mbps.
It's available to around 24% of UK homes via Openreach’s network, although Sky is continuing to roll it out across the country.
Enter your postcode in our postcode checker to see if you can get Sky FTTP broadband:
What Sky Fibre packages can I get?
Sky has expanded its range to offer superfast, ultrafast and even gigafast broadband. You can choose between five fibre optic broadband packages, all available on 18-month contracts:
- Sky Broadband Superfast 35 – average speeds of 36Mbps
- Sky Broadband Superfast – average speeds of 59Mbps
- Sky Broadband Ultrafast – average speeds of 145Mbps
- Sky Broadband Ultrafast Plus – average speeds of 500Mbps
- Sky Broadband Gigafast – average speeds of 900Mbps
Both superfast fibre packages are widely available – in fact, 96% of the UK can get it. So, unless you live somewhere extremely rural, you’ll be able to get fibre broadband with speeds of at least 59Mbps.
Sky’s ultrafast and gigafast plans take things to the next level. With lightning-fast speeds between 145Mbps to 900Mbps, they’re well-suited to large households, avid streamers and online gamers who need a strong, speedy and stable connection.
However, they’re less widely available than Sky's superfast service, as they use ‘Fibre to the premises’ (FTTP) technology to deliver a speedy connection straight to your house.
All Sky Fibre packages come with a Sky Hub router, Sky Broadband Shield protection software, free email addresses, and free access to Sky Wi-Fi hotspots across the UK.
Plus, you can also add Sky Broadband Boost to improve the quality of your service. For an extra £5 a month, you get:
- Flexible engineer visits at any time – and for no extra charge even at evenings and weekends
- Daily line checks to monitor the quality of your service, with instant engineer help if there’s a fault
- Sky Broadband Buddy app, which allows you to apply extensive parental controls from your smartphone or tablet
- Guaranteed Wi-Fi of at least 3Mbps in every room of your house, or your money back
- Free upgrade to Sky’s latest router, if you don’t already have it
- Sky Mobile customers can get 2GB of data in their Sky Mobile Piggybank if their broadband drops out
Sky Talk
Sky uses your landline to deliver an internet connection, so all Sky fibre broadband packages automatically come with a Sky Talk home phone package.
If you won’t be using your home phone that much, you can just stay on the most basic Pay As You Talk plan – you’ll only need to pay for any calls you make.
Otherwise, keen talkers can upgrade to a more comprehensive calls plan. Depending on what you’re looking for, you can get unlimited evening and weekend calls, anytime calls, or international calls.
Sky TV
You can also get Sky Fibre with Sky TV.
It’s perhaps Sky’s star selling point – as well as bundling your services together to save some money, you get to enjoy Sky TV, which is one of the most expansive TV services on the market.
With exclusive channels, Sky Originals, comprehensive sports coverage and tons of catch-up and on-demand movies and shows, Sky’s got all your entertainment needs covered.
Sky customer reviews
Sky consistently scores well in Ofcom’s annual reports about customer service and satisfaction.
In the most recent 2021 report, it found that Sky customers were less likely to have a reason to complain about their broadband service. And when it came to customer satisfaction with how complaints are handled, Sky scored above average.
What’s good about Sky Fibre?
- Much faster and more reliable than standard broadband
- Truly unlimited usage with all packages – you’re free to download as much as you like and Sky will never slow down your connection
- Wide availability with its Superfast packages
- A great choice if you live in a large household, where lots of people use the internet and there are loads of gadgets connected at the same time
- Great for gamers – games and updates download quickly, lag reduced when playing online
- Enhances Sky TV with access to catch-up, on-demand TV box sets and more – and perfect for watching in high definition
- Sky Hub smart router included as standard – easy to set up, with no need for an engineer
What’s bad about Sky Fibre?
- Sky Ultrafast and Gigafast packages not as widely available
- More expensive than fibre optic broadband from some other providers, such as TalkTalk or Plusnet
- No broadband-only options – you must take line rental with Sky fibre broadband
- Not the fastest fibre optic broadband available – Virgin Media takes that crown
- Set-up costs apply
- Only 18-month contracts available – no shorter-term options
How does it compare?
Sky vs BT
Sky Fibre’s closest rival is BT Superfast Fibre (formerly known as BT Infinity). Although average download speeds from both providers are pretty much the same, ranging from 36Mbps to 900Mbps, BT has slightly more choice of fibre packages.
BT fibre broadband is also more widely available than Sky fibre, and it also has many more public Wi-Fi hotspots.
Sky fibre broadband, however, is generally a bit cheaper - and with the vast range of channels you can get with Sky TV, you’re looking at some better bundling options too.
Take a look at our BT Superfast Fibre vs Sky Fibre review for the details.
Sky vs Virgin Media
Virgin Media’s fibre optic broadband is far speedier than Sky’s – we’re talking top speeds of 1130Mbps. It’s also got the advantage of not requiring an active phone line, and offering some slightly cheaper prices as a result.
Virgin Media also has one of the top TV services on the market, but Sky remains top.
And although Virgin Media has some of the most widely available ultrafast speeds, its network simply isn’t as expansive as Sky, which uses the Openreach network.
Sky vs TalkTalk
Sky and TalkTalk have similar fibre broadband packages, with speeds going up to 900Mbps and plenty of fast, superfast and ultrafast options. Plus, both can be bundled with TV.
TalkTalk is much cheaper than Sky, which is great for those on a budget. However, its TV selection pales in comparison to Sky – plus, it has a weaker reputation for customer service.
Sky vs Plusnet
Another budget provider, Plusnet has far lower prices than Sky, and includes line rental too.
However, there’s a far smaller range of packages to choose from. While Sky offers fibre broadband with speeds up to 900Mbps, Plusnet only offers 36Mbps or 66Mbps options. Not to mention, Plusnet no longer has its own TV service to bundle with.
Get a full rundown of how other providers measure up on our reviews page.
Our latest Sky fibre broadband deals
- 75Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £25.00 per month
- £20.83 Avg. monthly cost
- 150Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £27.00 per month
- £22.83 Avg. monthly cost
- 150Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £30.00 per month
- 75Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £28.00 per month
- 500Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £31.00 per month
- £26.63 Avg. monthly cost
- 900Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £41.00 per month
- £36.63 Avg. monthly cost
- 35Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £40.00 per month
- 61Mb average* speed
- No TV channels
- £0.00 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £25.00 per month
- £20.83 Avg. monthly cost
*Average speeds are based on the download speeds of at least 50% of customers at peak time(8pm to 10pm). Speed can be affected by a range of technical and environmental factors. The speed you receive where you live may be lower than that listed above. You can check the estimated speed to your property prior to purchasing.
What else does Sky do?
Check out our guides to Sky's other services:
How much is Sky fibre broadband?
At the time of writing (June 2022), Sky Broadband Superfast starts from £28 per month (including landline).
Can I get Sky fibre in my area?
Fibre optic coverage is less widespread than standard broadband, which means not everyone can get Sky fibre – although these days, you’ll usually be able to get some sort of fibre broadband in your area.
It’s highly likely that you can get Sky superfast fibre optic broadband at your address. However, Sky’s ultrafast and gigafast options are less widely available.
There's an easy way to find out what you can get – simply take a look at the options in your area with our postcode checker.
Can I get Sky fibre to the premises?
Sky’s ultrafast and gigafast broadband use ‘Fibre to the premises’ (FTTP) to achieve top speeds. But they’re less widely available than superfast broadband, covering 24% of UK homes – so, whether you can get it depends on where you live.
Is Sky fibre any good?
With a decent selection of fibre broadband packages ranging between 36Mbps-900Mbps and prices starting from £28 a month , Sky's Superfast broadband package compares well with rivals.
While there are cheaper fibre broadband deals from the likes of Plusnet and TalkTalk, offering comparable speeds, Sky has the advantage of being able to bundle it with excellent Sky TV for a discounted rate.
If you feel you need a faster service than Sky offers, take a look at Virgin Media.
What speed can I get with Sky fibre broadband?
Sky’s fibre broadband packages come with speeds of 36Mbps to 900Mbps. But the speed you actually get will depend on your location and home's distance from the local telephone exchange.
Does Sky fibre include line rental?
Yes, it does. All Sky fibre broadband packages come with a landline, and the price of line rental is included in the overall cost.
