Sky crashes into free broadband

[gem]

From The Register

Sky crashes into free broadband
By John Oates
Published Tuesday 18th July 2006 09:39 GMT

Sky is the latest company to get on the convergence wagon by offering broadband internet access alongside other comms services.

Aimed at existing Sky customers the service will be "free" - if you spend enough money on other Sky services.

Punters can sign up to one of three packages - max, mid or base with download speeds of 16Mb, 8Mb and 2Mb. Monthly usage is capped at 2GB for base, 40GB for mid and unlimited for max. They can also include Sky phone package.

The base service is free except for a £40 connection fee and a £50 installation fee. The max package costs £14 a month including phone line rental. Although it claims to be unlimited the max package will be "subject to fair use policy".

A Sky-branded Netgear wireless router is included as are some McAfee security products.

No mobile play yet - BSkyB chief executive James Murdoch said he didn't see any need to marry broadcasters to network companies. He said home phone and television services were its first target. Video on demand online will be part of the offer from day one, and it'll be coming through your set-top box in 2007.

The company will invest £400m over the next three years and hopes the service will be adding to the bottom line by 2010 - excluding any pay-TV benefits.

The press releases, and a video schmooze with James Murdoch, are available here.

From Media Guardian

Sky unveils broadband service
Jason Deans
Tuesday July 18, 2006
MediaGuardian.co.uk

BSkyB today unveiled its "free" broadband offer for Sky Digital customers, which will cost the satellite broadcaster £400m.

Sky Digital customers can begin registering for Sky Broadband from noon, with sales due to begin early next month.

The pay-TV broadcaster is offering three Sky Broadband packages as part of its key strategic move into the high-speed internet market.

Base is the "free" option, providing a 2Mb speed service and monthly usage of 2Gb to Sky customers for no extra monthly fee.

For £5 a month, Sky Broadband's Mid package offers 8Mb speed and 40Gb monthly usage, while the Max offering gives customers 16Mb and unlimited monthly usage for £10 a month.

Base subscribers will have to pay a one-off £40 connection fee and £50 for home installation. For Mid customers the connection fee is £20, while Max subscribers get connection and home installation for free.

Subscribers to all three Sky Broadband packages will have to sign up for a £5 monthly payment to Sky Talk, which requires BT line rental but offers unlimited UK landline calls.

Sky Digital customers outside the current reach of the Sky Broadband network will be offered the Connect package, which provides the equivalent to the Mid offering but for £17 a month.

BSkyB's share price was down 20p to 521p at 10.25am following the announcement, a drop of 3.7% on last night's close.

[Scoobs]

BSkyB joins 'free broadband' war
Cable being plugged into PC
Sky hopes to plug into a whole new market
The broadband pricing war has heated up with satellite firm BSkyB launching a free service for its subscribers.

Under the offer, existing network customers can get its 2Mb "base" package for free. Sky expects 30% of its eight million users to sign up.

New subscribers to Sky Digital will be able to sign up for its broadband offering for £15.

Sky said it would spend about £250m on the move, adding it expected to invest a further £400m over three years.

Shares in the group fell on the news amid analyst fears that the decision may mean expensive initial outlays - partly down to the cost of installing Sky equipment in BT telephone exchanges to access the local loop.

Sky's shares fell almost 4% following the announcement before recovering to stand 1.5% higher at 541p in late morning trade.

'Transformational' move

"Sky is ideally equipped to enter the large and growing markets of broadband and telephony by pushing the boundaries of the home entertainment market," chief executive James Murdoch said.

"This is a transformational new initiative for Sky."


SKY BROADBAND PACKAGES
Base - 2MB download speed, £40 connection fee, £50 installation, free subscription, 2GB monthly limit
Mid - 8MB, £20 connection, £50 installation, £5 monthly subscription, 40GB usage
Max- 16MB, free installation and connection, £10 monthly subscription, unlimited usage
Connect - 8MB, £40 connection, £50 installation, £17 a month, 40GB usage

Check BSkyB's shares

Sky's new service aims to compete with market leaders BT, AOL and NTL.

It will also face competition from heavily subsidised broadband services offered by mobile phone operator Orange.

Industry analysts also expect the group to widen its online entertainment portfolio - offering more than its current movie and sports downloads.

Meanwhile, Mr Murdoch also hinted that Sky planned to expand its reach online by admitting the company is among the suitors looking to buy Time Warner's AOL access business in the UK.

"We would look at it from purely an opportunistic basis," he told reporters.

Tariffs

Sky - which is 38% owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation - will begin signing up customers for the three-tier service, offering download speeds from 2MB to 16MB, which launches next month.

While customers will not have to pay for the ongoing service they will have to pay installation and connection fees. These range from nothing to £50.

Only 28% of UK households are currently covered by Sky's broadband network but it will be rolled out to 70% by the end of next year.

Customers currently not covered by Sky's network are being offered a fourth Connect broadband service, which carries the highest tariff of those on offer.

Meanwhile, prospective broadband customers will also still need to have a BT line for the service which costs £11.99 a month.

Source BBC

[Scoobs]

http://www.sky.com/broadband/

Will I have to sign up to an 18 month contract?
A - No, Sky's is 12 months

What's the cost of the broadband package when you've added up all the extras?
A - Even if you look at Sky Broadband Base with a £40 activation fee and FREE subscription, you could still save £157 over a year when compared to AOL Silver

What is the maximum download speed available to you?
A - Sky's state-of-the-art broadband network could allow you to go up to 16Mb

How much is it for broadband equipment and extra security?
A - Whichever product you choose, Sky offers a FREE wireless Sky Broadband box and FREE 12 months' McAfee security package

[gem]

The broadband war is hotting up!

Lest hope it settles by next year when I move - then I can decide which to go for.

[silver]

I guess it's ADSL2+ over phoneline, wonder what the upload will be set at - presume 1 meg?

guess they must be reselling / using someone elses LLU - perhaps bulldog's network?

Sil

[gem]

Were Sky not sniffing at AOL? Have not heard anything about AOL of late!

[silver]

dunno perhaps - but AOL doesn't have any local loop stuff - and it'll be a while before BT wholesale goes to 16 meg / ADSL2

def a good thing though, probably not for me but more competition is always welcome

Sil

[Ian]

All the products are available to any existing Sky digital customers covered by the Sky broadband network ..

Which is Easynet LLU

There are also options available for those not within Sky's broadband network directly for a modest fee.

http://www.adslguide.org.uk/newsarchive.asp?item=2732

http://www.skybroadband.com/

The non-llu package is £17/mon with a 40G cap

[centaur]

http://www.sky.com/broadband/

Will I have to sign up to an 18 month contract?
A - No, Sky's is 12 months

What's the cost of the broadband package when you've added up all the extras?
A - Even if you look at Sky Broadband Base with a £40 activation fee and FREE subscription, you could still save £157 over a year when compared to AOL Silver

What is the maximum download speed available to you?
A - Sky's state-of-the-art broadband network could allow you to go up to 16Mb

How much is it for broadband equipment and extra security?
A - Whichever product you choose, Sky offers a FREE wireless Sky Broadband box and FREE 12 months' McAfee security package

Originally Posted by Scoobs

Not much use here in the sticks...can't get anything better than 1Mb via BT line, no cable available and only 4 terrestrial TV channels and NO digital TV or radio. Apparently our TV repeater won't be converted to Digital either.
Our only 'choice' is SKY satellite in future it seems ....progress....don't make me laff !

[gem]

That's almost the same as where we plan to move to in Dorset - no digital radio or TV (except Sky) and only four terrestrial channels, but they do have broadband of 2-8Mb.

Erm. So it might well be Easynet for me in the future then!

[Worldlife]

I'm still with Pipex!!!

I have a Sky Digital installation but pay no subscription but can pick up all the free channels and quite satisfied with the service.

Presumably I would have to add a basic subscription before getting any of these goodies and being in a rural area without cable I would have to pay additional charges. Mention of the "Sky Broadband Network" suggests this is cable related and not a genuine satellite service or have a misunderstood?

The sun is rising and it is going to be a scorching day

To hot to go into detailed cost benefit analysis

[Worldlife]

but I have registered.....

Thanks for registering your interest in Sky Broadband. We've checked your phone number and it appears that you live in an area where you can get Sky Broadband Connect. Sky Broadband Connect offers you a fast connection and is designed to be perfect for downloading music or short video clips, or for faster browsing. We expect demand to be high for Sky Broadband Connect, so we will keep in touch and let you know when it is ready for you to buy.

Sky Broadband Connect is only £17 per month, with speeds of up to 8Mb, a usage allowance of 40GB per month, and an activation fee of £40.

You'll also get all this:

FREE wireless Sky Broadband box worth over £50
This means that all the family could be online at the same time, from anywhere in the house.

FREE McAfee Security
If you are a PC user you will get a FREE 12 month subscription to McAfee Internet Security Suite, worth £49.98, to help protect your computer against viruses, spam, and other online threats. If you are a Mac user, you will get a FREE 12 month subscription to McAfee Virex security software, worth £29.99.

Professional installation service
Sky Broadband Connect is really easy to install yourself. However, we’re also offering a professional installation service to hook up your wireless Sky Broadband Box in case you aren't confident of doing it yourself. There is a charge for the optional professional installation service of £50.

Sky.com email address
You'll also get up to five email addresses – name@sky.com

The above registration was done as a non Sky Digital Customer. I repeated the registration for Mrs W/L as a Sky Digital Customer and got the same message. Both had a side panel:-

You can also get a great deal on telephone calls

And don't forget, you can also get great phone deal with Sky Talk. It's available whether you take Sky Broadband or not. This will give you unlimited UK* landline calls for just £5 a month.

Simply pay Sky for your Sky Talk charges and BT for your line rental.

CALL US TO GET TALKING WITH SKY TALK ON 08702 419 920

[silver]

I'm still with Pipex!!!

I have a Sky Digital installation but pay no subscription but can pick up all the free channels and quite satisfied with the service.

Presumably I would have to add a basic subscription before getting any of these goodies and being in a rural area without cable I would have to pay additional charges. Mention of the "Sky Broadband Network" suggests this is cable related and not a genuine satellite service or have a misunderstood?

The sun is rising and it is going to be a scorching day

To hot to go into detailed cost benefit analysis

Originally Posted by Worldlife

it's ADSL - over phoneline,. you have to get a phone with them (or switch existing phone)

Sil

[gem]

it's ADSL - over phoneline,. you have to get a phone with them (or switch existing phone)

Sil

Originally Posted by silver

Oh no you do not. You need a BT phone line and you (continue to ) pay BT for your line rental. And that's for broadband and/or phone calls.

[Zer02004]

The deal as advertised (As I understand it) is only available to around a third of current customers as it's dependent on exchanges being LLU'd. All other customers will be offered a less attractive deal over BTw.
Sky bought out EasyNet and LLU is being provided through them.

I may be slightly wrong with the details but it seems that some customers may get broadband for around a fiver a month.

[gem]

Or free

The base service is free except for a £40 connection fee and a £50 installation fee.

I'm thinking about the 16Mb unlimited for £10 AND the anytime calls @ £5 - still cheaper than Tiswas for BB!

[Zer02004]

That deal would require that you are in a suitably enabled area.
I'll do a bit of digging around later and see if I can find out what the real deals are and what conditions are attached.

[silver]

if the broadband requires LLU - then as I understand it the phone line must be switched to the LLU - i.e. you may require a BT phone but it will be switched to the LLU and you will pay rental to the LLU / Sky?

Sil

[Zer02004]

I haven't had time to go into the deals on offer in depth yet but from the little I've gleaned so far, the deal that's being fronted applies to LLU only. I may be wrong.

[gem]

No. It clearly says on the letter they sent me today "you pay Sky for your monthly Sky Talk fee and BT for your line rental". It therefore follows that for BB only you pay BT for your line rental since you can have both Sky Talk and Sky BB.

Found the relevant link here.

[Worldlife]

Oh no you do not. You need a BT phone line and you (continue to ) pay BT for your line rental. And that's for broadband and/or phone calls.

Originally Posted by gem

W/L Enters forum after reading book on sunlounger in shaded area of garden

That's how I saw the situation GEM. The "Connect" prices are very competitive but will need to find out more about the service standards. The broadband is not FREE.

However is this misleading advertising to hook you on a free broadband offer then then say "if" and "but"

Wonder if the Advertising Standards Authority could insist that they honour the promotion and subsidise those who have to meet the additional costs. It would certainly be an incentive to them to develop a genuine free service to all who register.

Could bring down the share price to attractive levels that would make investment worthwhile !!!

[Zer02004]

It's difficult at the moment to decipher exactly what these deals entail. It will probably take a couple of days for the dust to settle and the true costs and conditions to individual users can be assessed.

Remember the "free" broadband offer from TT and the £6.99 offer from Pipex? Those offers didn't stand up to much scrutiny did they!

As I understand it (I've been out of the loop for a few days so need to catch up a little), the ASA were attempting to stop providers using misleading terms such as "free" in their advertising but seem to have given up.
It's a bloody disgrace that UK ISPs can say virtually anything that they want and get away with it. People talk about "txters" redefining the English language; ISPs have done a pretty good job so far.

[Worldlife]

Just checked SDSL availability at my exchange through The Broadband Resource

No SDSL

So the offer quoted in the previous post cannot be honoured.

Think I saw somewhere this morning that there was a fee of £5 for speeds up to 2Mb but cannot find it know. Seems a very confusing offer

Even more of a case for offering a FREE broadband to ALL customers at the base level

[Zer02004]

Seems a very confusing offer

Originally Posted by Worldlife

This years "Understatement Of The Year" goes to....................... WL!

[gem]

I've registered too Worldlife and it said that "We've checked and you are in a Sky Broadband network area ..... We will get back to you within a few weeks". I've also signed up for Sky Talk unlimited which is cheaper than OneTel (who I've been with for a couple of years now).

Time will tell!

[Zer02004]

"Sky Broadband network area" Does that mean an LLU enabled area I wonder? What does SamKnows etc say?

[The Beef]

I registered too. Can only get the connect package for £17 a month. Would be nice to get the £5 a month one. Still it's way cheaper and faster than the pipex I have now!
I will be watching this space.

[Worldlife]

That's the package they offered me and I agree it is faster and better value than Pipex.

As my exchange is not SDSL enabled I can only get the maximum of 2Mb which is my current Pipex speed. I thought I saw somewhere that the fee for this speed from Sky on the Connect package would be £5 (much cheaper than Pipex)

[The Beef]

That's the package they offered me and I agree it is faster and better value than Pipex.

As my exchange is not SDSL enabled I can only get the maximum of 2Mb which is my current Pipex speed. I thought I saw somewhere that the fee for this speed from Sky on the Connect package would be £5 (much cheaper than Pipex)

Originally Posted by Worldlife

Let me get this straight. If ones exchange isn't SDSL enabled, which mine isn't, I won't be able to get more than 2mbs at the most?
of course I don't mind this as it is still cheaper than my current pipex account.
Just wondered if this was the case?

[Worldlife]

So the allegedly FREE service will end up costing you £17 for a 2 Meg connection.

Outrageous

Time for more negotiations with Pipex.