Sky Broadband Deals

Author: Emma Davenport

Last updated: 08 August 2024

About Sky Broadband Deals

As well as being infamous for its satellite TV offerings, Sky is also a leading provider of fibre broadband in the UK.

If you’re a telly addict, looking for a few ways to cut down your monthly costs, Sky has plenty of bundle deals available that join TV and broadband together in one bill. But it’s also worth considering if you just want a reliable 'broadband only' connection without the extra bells and whistles.

As Sky delivers its services using the Openreach network, most homes across the UK should have access to a Sky Broadband package in some shape or form. However, not everyone will be able to sign up to its Ultrafast or Gigafast, full fibre packages. This is because the rollout of full fibre networks across the UK is still ongoing.

• What is Openreach?

  Openreach is the company that maintains the former British Telecom Network used for the majority of broadband and phone services. If a repair or installation is required, it’s Openreach who will send an engineer, not your provider.

  More than 650 service providers using the Openreach network. That’s the majority of the UK’s broadband providers. This includes Sky, TalkTalk and BT. The exception to this is Virgin Media - it uses its own, separate cable network.

What packages and speeds are available with Sky Broadband? 

All the Sky broadband offers you'll find on this page are for new customers only. If you’re already signed up to Sky and looking into whether it’s worth sticking or switching providers, head over to our ‘Sky Broadband deals for existing customers: upgrades and renewals page’.

Here's a round-up of the current Sky broadband only packages, with average download speeds and any extras included. All of these deals are available on a 24-month contract:

Sky Broadband Superfast 35

• 36Mb average speed.

Sky Broadband Superfast

• 61Mb average speed.

Sky Broadband Full Fibre 100

• 100Mb average speed.

Sky Broadband Ultrafast

• 145Mb average speed.

Sky Broadband Ultrafast Plus

• 500Mb average speed.

Sky Broadband Gigafast

• 900Mb average speed.

But this isn’t an exhaustive list. There are lots of other options for bundling in TV (including Netflix) or home phone services:

Can I get Sky Broadband deals in my area?

Sky uses the BT Openreach network, so it’s available to almost everyone. However, as we’ve already mentioned, you might not be able to sign up to its full fibre broadband packages just yet.

The Genie says...

If you don’t have full fibre, the fastest package you’ll be able to sign up with Sky is ‘Superfast Broadband’.

If fibre optic broadband is available in your area, you’ll be able to see these in our comparison tables, once you’ve entered your full address and postcode. Try it now!

About the Sky Broadband Hub Wi-Fi router

New customers signing up to Sky will receive a Sky Broadband Hub as standard. It’s also possible to pay extra to upgrade your router to a Wi-Fi 6-enabled, Sky WiFi Max Hub.

We take a more in-depth look at what router you get with Sky, in our 'Sky Broadband Router Round-up 2024'.

WiFi Max

For an additional cost per month (currently £3), Superfast Broadband, Ultrafast Broadband, Ultrafast Plus Broadband or Sky Gigafast Broadband customers can add on 'WiFi Max'. As well as receiving an upgrading Wi-Fi 6-enabled Max Hub router, this service comes with a Wi-Fi guarantee of 25Mb (10Mb for Sky Broadband Superfast). Sky will check the setup in your home, and you may be sent additional Sky Max Pods, or have an engineer visit.

If these speeds can’t be received, a refund is available.

Sky Broadband bundles

Sky broadband and phone deals

If you’re interested in including landline calls onto your broadband service, you’ll easily be able to do this with an add-on. You have a choice of options:

• Sky Pay As You Talk - included as standard with all Sky Broadband packages - you only pay for what you use.
• Sky Talk Evening & Weekend Calls (+£8 per month*) - unlimited evening and weekend calls to UK landline and mobiles.
• Sky Talk Anytime Calls (+£16 per month*) - unlimited anytime calls to UK landlines and mobiles.
• Sky Talk International (+£18 per month*) - unlimited calls to UK mobiles and landlines, plus 50 extra international destinations

*All of these call packages are on a 24-month minimum term and prices may change during your contract period.

Sky broadband and TV deals

Sky’s famous satellite TV service offers hundreds of channels and loads more content on demand.

You can get broadband deals with Sky Glass, Sky Q or Sky Stream.

Sky TV deals include Sky Sports and Sky Cinema, which other broadband and providers struggle to beat. However, if you're interested in researching what the competition has to offer, head to our guide, 'Alternatives to Sky TV and broadband'.

• What do I get with Sky TV?

  All customers signing up to Sky TV get a Sky Q box as standard. The basic 1TB box offers many cutting-edge features, including:

  1TB hard drive - Enough space to store 500 hours of standard definition TV.

  Record three shows - You can record up to three channels at the same time while watching a fourth.

  Multiscreen capability - Watch recordings around your home on either a free Sky Q Mini box or your tablet computer, or pause on one device and continue watching on another. Requires additional Sky Q Multiscreen subscription.

  Mobile device support - The ability to save recordings to a tablet or other mobile device to watch on the go. Available as part of the Sky Q Multiscreen add-on.

  Wi-Fi hotspot - The Sky Q box and any Mini boxes work as Wi-Fi hotspots, which can help to improve the wireless signal around your home.

  Netflix support - You can watch Netflix through your Sky Q box, if you've got a subscription.

   

  The Sky Q boxes come with Wi-Fi capability already built in, so you don't need to worry about connecting them to your broadband router with long cables. Once you're connected, it's simple to use by hitting your ‘TV Guide' button and accessing the On Demand features with the red button.

  The Sky Q Multiscreen feature requires an additional subscription of £15 per month. This provides you with a Sky Q Mini box that connects to another TV in your home (you can add an additional Mini box for £49 each), and also enables you to stream your recordings to a compatible tablet. You can stream to one tablet at a time with a 1TB Sky Q box, or two tablets if you upgrade to a 2TB box.

  If you choose to upgrade to the 2TB Sky Q box, you get a number of extra features. As well as the extra storage space - enough for 1000 hours of SD TV - you can record five shows while watching a sixth. You can also watch Ultra HD broadcasts - although you do need to take out the Sky Q Multiscreen subscription to unlock this - and you get an innovative Sky Q Touch Remote powered by Bluetooth. The 1TB box gets a standard IR remote.

  Once you have subscribed to the Sky TV service you get access to all of your chosen channels - including the optional Sky Sports and Sky Cinema - plus a full suite of on-demand services, including:

  Catch up TV in HD - Catch up on shows you may have missed during the week. Sky has the UK's largest Catch Up TV service, which includes most TV channels and channels in HD.

  TV Box Sets - Whole seasons of TV shows so you can watch episodes back-to-back and relive your favourites, or catch up on shows that are new to you.

  Showcase - A selection of the week's best television.

  Sky Store - There are over 1,000 movies that you can rent through the Sky Store, from as little as 99p.

  Sky Cinema - Take out a Sky Cinema subscription, and you'll have access to over 800 movies online.

Sky broadband, phone, and TV deals

Sky can offer the whole package, with bundles combining home broadband, home phone with inclusive calling, and a premium TV package.

Sky broadband extras and free gifts

All Sky broadband customers receive the following free extras:

• Sky Hub Wi-Fi broadband
  The Sky Hub Wi-Fi router is used to connect to the internet and share the broadband around your home using either wireless networking or wired network cables.
   
• The Cloud Wi-Fi
  The Cloud is Sky’s public Wi-Fi hotspot network. All Sky users get free access to The Cloud nationwide, so you can stay connected outside the home without using up your mobile data allowance.
   
• Sky Broadband Shield
  Sky offers internet filtering tools for parents who are concerned about their kids getting access to unsuitable content. It can be set up using age ratings or to block specific sites, and a watershed feature allows you to automatically disable the filter at certain times. See also: ‘How to use parental controls to keep your child safe’

You can also get vouchers and other free gifts with a new Sky deal. Visit our Sky rewards page for the latest offers.

Sky broadband deals: pros and cons

To find out more, read our full Sky Broadband review.

How to get Sky Broadband

The first step to finding out your broadband options, and Sky packages available to you, is to use our deals checker at the top of this page. Start by entering your address and postcode. The results will depend on whether you have access to a full fibre network yet. If not, for Sky, you’ll be limited to a maximum broadband speed of 61Mb.

Only around 46% of homes in the UK currently have access to Sky’s faster packages. Don’t worry though, 61Mb is still plenty fast enough for the average user, including those who enjoy online gaming.

You can get more advice on this in our guide: ‘what broadband speed do I need? Do I need fast broadband?’

Once you’ve completed the registration process, it takes around 14 working days to activate a new Sky Broadband service.

If you currently have broadband with another Openreach broadband provider (this includes the likes of BT, TalkTalk, Vodafone and Plusnet) then Sky will handle the cancellation of your old service. If you’re on another network, such as Virgin Media, you may need to get in contact to cancel. We have more about this in our guide: 'Switching from Virgin Media to Sky Broadband'.

If you're looking to get out of your current contract early, Sky Broadband offers a switching credit. It will refund back any early termination fees you have to pay up to a total of £200.

Which Sky deal should I choose?

Sky Broadband has something for every level of user, and the deals can be customised to ensure you get exactly what you need.

Your choice of broadband deal really depends on what speed you require. Faster broadband is more appealing, but there’s no need to pay more than necessary, especially when the broadband service is truly unlimited, letting you download, Skype, or game to your heart’s content.

If you want fast and unlimited then take a look at Sky Broadband Superfast, averaging 61Mb. Whichever you choose depends on the size of your household - whether it's a large family or a student house, for instance - and if they are likely to be streaming, gaming and downloading at the same time.

Once you've chosen your broadband service, you can customise it by choosing the Sky Talk service you need, if you make lots of landline calls. You can also add your choice of TV service.

Points to consider before you choose

• How many people will be using your broadband connection?
• Are you a heavy downloader, do you regularly play online games or do you stream TV and films?
• Do you want to watch TV on your tablet, or in more than one room?
• Would the expense of the faster speed of fibre be worth it for you?
• Can you find the TV channels you want cheaper elsewhere?

What are the benefits of Sky?

The benefits offered by an ISP may be what seals the deal in your decision to buy a broadband service from them.

Truly unlimited broadband - Sky offer truly unlimited broadband with not only no monthly download limits, but also no traffic management even at peak times. This lets you download files or play games to your heart’s content without needing to worry about being artificially slowed down, which can be a problem especially in larger households.

Sky TV - Sky’s satellite TV service is second-to-none in the range of options it provides, including premium channels such as Sky Sports and Sky Cinema. Even the most basic Sky TV service offers the exclusive channel Sky Atlantic, UK home of such dramas as Game of Thrones and all HBO original shows, and a range of Sky entertainment channels. No other provider offers as wide a selection of TV channels. The Sky Q box also builds in Multiscreen support (for an additional monthly charge), so you can catch your favourite shows on TVs and tablet computers around your home.

Sky Boost - you can opt to pay a little extra each month, you can get extra benefits added to your broadband deal. These include engineer visits at times that suit you, including evenings and weekends, daily checks on your line to catch any problems and fix them as fast as possible, and 2GB added to your Sky Mobile account if you have one.

Wi-Fi Guarantee - if you opt to pay extra for Sky Boost and your Wi-Fi isn't performing as well as it should, Sky will take several steps to improve the situation, from sending you a booster to improve the signal to sending a Sky Engineer out to optimise things for you. If you're still not getting Wi-Fi in every room, then Sky will refund your Boost upgrade for the remainder of your contract.

Some of the best Wi-Fi kit available - With the Sky Q Hub, you get one of the most reliable and best performing wireless routers provided with a broadband service. 

Complete entertainment - Sky’s combined TV/broadband/phone deals allow you to pay for all of your entertainment services together, saving hassle and potentially saving money on getting these individually, especially from different providers. You can add a mobile deal, too.

What are the drawbacks of Sky?

Let's face it, not everything can be perfect, and even the best deals may have a downside.

No short contracts - Sky’s contracts have a minimum of 24 months, which can be a problem for those who have short tenancies or do not want the commitment of a year-long contract. The lack of one-month contracts isn’t necessarily a problem, as the long contracts can be a plus to those who live in one place and don’t wish to renew on a regular basis.

Expensive for the full deal - A full Sky TV deal can get pretty expensive, especially if you only want to watch certain shows or channels.

Sky Talk line rental required - Unlike with Virgin Media, a phone line is required to access Sky's standard and fibre broadband products, there's also no option to pay one provider for phone services while taking only broadband from Sky, although Sky TV can be combined with other broadband providers. Sky's combined broadband and line rental is competitively priced though, with optional call plans for cheaper calling if required.

Many flagship TV features cost more - A number of Sky Q's widely advertised features actually require the additional Sky Q Multiscreen subscription, which adds £15 to your monthly cost. This includes the ability to watch live TV and recordings on tablet computers, where you can stop watching on one device and pick up from the same point on another, and support for watching shows in 4K Ultra HD on a 2TB Sky Q box.

Satellite TV can be affected by storms - Viewing and recording of live TV can be negatively affected by heavy rain, although On-Demand services will be unaffected. Other TV providers use underground cables or internet streaming to provide TV channels, so don't have this limitation. However, most of the time, satellite TV will be superior to internet streamed content that may be prone to buffering or drops in quality at peak times.

Possible mid-contract price rises - you'll be informed in advance of any changes to your contract

Frequently asked questions about Sky Broadband

• How long are Sky contracts?

  Sky broadband has a minimum contract term of 24 months.

  If you cancel early, you’ll have to pay a fee and an early termination fee. In most cases, this will be your monthly price multiplied by the remaining months left on your contract.

• Are there upfront costs with Sky?

  You can usually sign up to a new Sky Broadband contract without having to pay any upfront fee. However, you may have to pay for a small installation charge if a new line is required to your property. You sometimes also have to pay for the delivery of a TV set-top box.

• Can you get mobile with broadband packages?

  While Sky does have its own mobile network which offers some great value deals, it doesn’t currently provide these in a bundle. However, Sky customers can benefit from some bonus features when using Sky Mobile phone services. For example, Sky TV VIP subscribers get access to exclusive mobile offers. You can access thse through your My Sky app.

• How long will it take to install Sky Broadband?

  Typically, it takes around 14 working days to install a new broadband service. You may need to wait on an engineer visit if your property doesn’t have a line or requires repairs.

• Can I get Sky Broadband without a contract?

  It’s not possible to get Sky without a contract.

  If you want no-contract broadband, head to our short-term broadband deals guide.

• How do I contact Sky?

  If you're looking to join Sky, you can speak to a member of its customer service on 0333 7591129. You can find other ways to get in touch in our Sky customer service guide.

• How do I cancel Sky Broadband?

  To cancel Sky Broadband, first, check your contract to see if you’re still within the minimum term. If you leave early, you’ll have to pay an extra fee.

  If you still need broadband, and you are moving to another Openreach network provider, then all you need to do is sign up for a new deal. The new provider will notify Sky that you are leaving. 

  If you no longer need broadband, or you’re moving to a different network (this includes Virgin Media), you’ll need to contact Sky to cancel.

  Visit our guide to cancelling Sky Broadband for more help.

Expert Summary

Sky broadband has some great offerings, especially if you’re looking for bundle deals. You can get Sky broadband and a TV package together, or a simple broadband only deal with optional landline calls add-ons.

Most homes across the UK will have access to Sky Broadband Superfast (with speeds up to 61Mb). But not everyone will be able to sign up to faster, full fibre speeds. Be sure to use the deals checker at the top of this page. This way, you’ll see an accurate result of the Sky options available at your exact address.

We think Sky offers fair value for money with all of its packages. However, you’ll need to be prepared to commit to a 24-month contract.

If you’re interested in signing up to Sky, be sure to bookmark this Sky Rewards and Gifts page.