Sky Broadband review 2023

By Matt Powell

Sky broadband review

Sky Broadband offers a wide range of packages. It offers everything from cheap fibre to premium satellite TV and broadband bundles. Ultrafast full-fibre services too. It also has a good customer service record, and you get useful extras.

But while some of its packages are expensive, the ultrafast services do not impress when it comes to uploading, and you cannot easily replace the Sky Broadband Hub with your own Wi-Fi router.

We like

• Truly unlimited.
• Good customer service.
• Broadband and satellite TV bundles.
• Minimum speed guarantee.
• Ultrafast broadband is available.

We don’t like

• Expensive ADSL service.
• Upload speeds aren’t great.
• Sky Wi-Fi router can’t be easily replaced.

Sky broadband: in summary

• Download speeds (average): 11Mb (ADSL) / 59Mb (FTTC) / 145Mb (G.fast & FTTP) / 500Mb (FTTP) / 900Mb (FTTP)
• Upload speeds (average): 1Mb (ADSL) / 16Mb / 27Mb / 60Mb / 90Mb
• Data usage limit: Truly unlimited
• Type of broadband: ADSL & fibre optic (FTTC / G.fast / FTTP)
• Home phone line: Yes (required for ADSL, FTTC & G.fast)
• Inclusive phone calls: Optional extra
• Router: Sky Broadband Hub

Sky broadband speeds

Sky offers five different broadband speeds, with a variety of packages available for each, including broadband and TV bundles.

Sky Broadband Essential Plus

• Download speed: 11Mb
• Upload speed: 1Mb

This is a basic entry-level ADSL service. It’s suitable for homes of one or two people who don’t use their broadband much. But it’s slow, and this package is pretty expensive for what it offers.

Sky Broadband Superfast

• Download speed: 59Mb
• Upload speed: 16Mb

This is quick enough for many homes, and it can definitely handle multiple users at once. It’s much better value than Sky Essential because it’s both faster and cheaper.

You can find more on fibre broadband in our guide section.

Sky Broadband Ultrafast

• Download speed: 145Mb
• Upload speed: 27Mb

Sky Ultrafast seriously improves download speeds. It’s good for larger homes where many people are going to want to stream or download at once.

Its minimum guaranteed download speed is 100Mb.

Depending on where your home is, this service may be delivered using either G.fast or FTTP (Fibre To The Premises) technology.

Read our guide to FTTP to learn what it is and why it’s so good.

Sky Broadband Ultrafast Plus

• Download speed: 500Mb
• Upload speed: 60Mb

This option uses full fibre (FTTP) to provide very quick download speeds. They usually average around 500Mb, but it also has a minimum guaranteed speed of 400Mb.

Visit our guide to ultrafast broadband services for more details about this type of broadband.

Sky Broadband Gigafast

• Download speed: 900Mb
• Upload speed: 90Mb

The quickest Sky package is Gigafast, which is a full fibre service. It provides an average download speed of 900Mb, which is super impressive. The guaranteed speed of 600Mb might be slower, but it’s still so much faster than Sky’s other deals.

Sky speed summary

Sky user Speed Satisfaction score: 3.67 / 5

The speed satisfaction score is taken from the feedback of Sky customers, who are asked to rate the performance of their Sky broadband service on a scale of one (very dissatisfied) to five (very satisfied). The score is an average of all results.

Ofcom average speed data: Sky 59Mb vs BT, EE, Plusnet, TalkTalk, and Virgin Media

Average broadband download speed recorded by Ofcom during a 24-hour period. 

• Sky 59Mb average speed: 52.6Mb (89% of advertised rate)
• BT 67Mb average speed: 60.8Mb (91% of advertised rate)
• EE 67Mb average speed: 60.6Mb (90% of advertised rate)
• Plusnet 66Mb average speed: 59.3Mb (90% of advertised rate)
• TalkTalk 67Mb average speed: 59.6Mb (89% of advertised rate)
• Virgin Media 108Mb average speed: 106.8Mb (99% of advertised rate)

Ofcom speed data shows the average speed of Sky Broadband Superfast was 52.6Mb or 89% of its advertised speed.

This sounds fairly slow compared to some of the other providers, but while other providers might advertise higher rates, the majority of them will offer similar speeds in reality.

So don’t be put off by the slightly slower speed of Sky Superfast compared to its closest competitors. Sky isn’t promising as much, but it’s delivering the same kind of experience.

However, our survey results suggest Sky customers do have some issues with the service. Although this isn’t terrible, the speed satisfaction user score of 3.67 is a little below the average of 3.77.

It’s also worth noting that Sky Ultrafast packages have disappointing upload rates in comparison to the upload speed. They’re still worth it for many homes, but if you have FTTP in your area, there are faster options.

Sky broadband value for money

Sky value for money user score: 3.39 / 5????

Our Sky user value for money score is the average rating from Sky customers, who are asked to rank their provider for value on a scale of one (very poor value) to five (very good value).

The Sky user value score of 3.39 falls below the average of 3.47. It’s not catastrophic but does suggest that Sky customers aren’t as happy with what they’re getting compared to some other providers.

Going by its pricing, Sky seems to offer competitive value for money...mostly.

Sky Broadband Superfast is well under £30 per month for a fast fibre service. While ultrafast deals start at just over £30 for a 145Mb average download speed. 

However, we don’t recommend Sky Broadband Essential Plus. It’s the only ADSL package offered by Sky, and it's pretty expensive.

Sky Superfast is actually a few quid less and much quicker. So if you have fibre coverage, there's no reason to go with Essential Plus. And if you can’t get fibre, there are plenty of other cheaper ADSL packages.

Essential Plus does include the Broadband Boost feature, which includes some potentially useful features (see the Extras section below). But there’s no option to remove it, and even if there was, this package still costs more than many other ADSL deals.

Phone line rental is included in the monthly fee. But inclusive calls are extra. That means that if you want to make phone calls on your landline, it’ll cost you. That’s ideal if you only need the phone for broadband. But take the time to compare options if it’s a feature you need. There are broadband and phone deals out there with inclusive calls that could cost less.

Sky Ultrafast packages include phone service, but it’s an internet calls package — which means your phone plugs into the back of the router instead of the wall socket. Again, inclusive calls are extra. But, this may be unsuitable if you have emergency devices that need to use the phone line.

Sky rewards

Sky Broadband sometimes come with a free gift, usually a shopping voucher or pre-paid credit card. It’s not as frequent as some other providers and tends to only be available with one or two packages. But when it does, the value can be in the region of £100.

When rewards aren’t available, you’ll often find Sky offering some kind of discount on the monthly fee. 

You can compare the latest Sky offers on our Sky cashback and rewards page. For general help with rewards, visit our guide to claiming free gifts and vouchers.

Sky customer service

Sky customer service user score: 3.84 / 5

Sky users were asked to rate their provider for customer service on a scale of one (terrible) to five (excellent). The user score is the overall average for each provider.

Going by both our survey ratings and Ofcom reports, customer service is a strength for Sky Broadband.

In our survey, Sky subscribers rated it above average, with a score of 3.84 versus the average 3.69. 

Sky is one of the providers featured in the Ofcom customer service report. It received the following scores in the most recent publication (18th May 2022): 

• Overall satisfaction: 84%
• Satisfaction with speed of service: 82%
• Customers with a reason to complain: 16%
• Overall complaint handling satisfaction: 54%
• Complaints per 100,000 subscribers: 21
• Call waiting time: 2:17

Sky is rated above average in almost every category, except for call waiting times where it’s slightly longer than average. But only by a minute, so that’s still pretty good.

Overall, these are very positive stats. You can be confident you’ll be treated well after buying from Sky.

You can find out more with Sky customer service contact information

Sky Wi-Fi router

All new Sky broadband deals include a Sky Broadband Hub. 

Sky Broadband Hub specifications

• Wi-Fi: 802.11b/g/n (2.4GHz) & 802.11ac (5Ghz)
• Dual-band Wi-Fi: Yes
• Tri-band Wi-Fi: No
• Ethernet: 4x gigabit LAN
• Extras: 8x aerials, telephone port

The Sky Broadband Hub replaces the old Sky and Sky Q Hubs. When you sign up for a new Sky broadband package now, you’ll receive the newer version. If you’re an existing customer, then you should contact Sky about a router upgrade.

This is a dual-band router, which means it can host two networks at the same time. It has a 2.4Ghz signal for older devices and a 5Ghz 802.11ac network for newer hardware. So you should be set either way.

The previous Sky Q Hub was also capable of this too. But it only had five Wi-Fi antennas, while the new Broadband Hub has eight. That means it should provide better Wi-Fi coverage.

It also has gigabit network ports, which means it offers fast connectivity for up to four wired devices.

The Hub doesn’t stand out from most other free Wi-Fi routers, but it is a decent upgrade. It’s an acceptable router for most homes. 

But remember, unlike most other providers, Sky doesn’t support the use of any Wi-Fi routers except its own. You can replace it with your own hardware, but you’ll have to search the web for unofficial workarounds.

Sky broadband extras

Sky TV

Sky is obviously best known for its satellite TV. It’s been beaming channels into homes for decades. This is a service with a huge amount of content that’s available to view both live and on-demand. You can even watch on the move using the Sky Go app if you want.

Sky TV is available as a standalone service, but the broadband and TV bundles do offer the best value. It isn’t the cheapest option for TV, but its lowest-priced packages do deliver more channels than the basic offerings from other TV providers.

But you will need to have a satellite dish installed unless you’ve shelled out for the Sky Glass TV. That may be an issue. If you’re a renter or are living in a block of flats, make sure you get permission before having one installed.

If you’re interested in getting Sky TV, then check out our latest Sky TV deals.

Sky Broadband Boost

Broadband Boost is a £5 add-on for Sky Superfast and Ultrafast packages that’s already included with Sky Broadband Essential Plus. 

It offers the following features: 

• Wi-Fi guarantee: You’re guaranteed Wi-Fi speeds of at least 3Mb in every room. If you don’t, you can get your money back. When necessary, you can also get Free Wi-Fi boosters through this service.
• Flexible engineer visits: Sky will schedule evening or weekend engineer visits for no extra charge.
• Daily line checks: Your line will be checked daily and Sky will you know if there’s a problem.
• Sky Broadband Buddy: A parental control app is available for those who want to keep an eye on the kids’ smartphones and tablets.
• 2GB mobile data boost: If a broadband fault happens, Sky Mobile customers get an extra 2GB of data.
• The Cloud Wi-Fi hotspots: All Sky broadband customers get free access to The Cloud Wi-Fi network as part of the package.  With thousands of access points across the country, access to The Cloud means you can avoid using your data too often and get a cheaper mobile deal.

Sky: our verdict

Broadband Genie rating: 3.5 / 5

Perhaps Sky’s biggest strength is that it offers a complete home entertainment bundle. You can get TV, phone, broadband, and even mobile for one monthly price. That’s pretty practical.

The best thing is that none of these services feels like a compromise. The TV service is exceptional, while its broadband is on the same level as the big competitors, and better than many. Sky deals include lots of extras, too, like free public Wi-Fi hotspots and minimum speed guarantees.

The TV and broadband bundles can get expensive. If you’d rather drop the TV package and save money, its standalone broadband service and other packages are reasonably priced. 

Sky has also improved its reputation when it comes to after-sales support. And in recent years has been reasonably well-rated for tech support and customer service. 

The things we don’t like about Sky Broadband aren’t necessarily a big issue; it just depends on your requirements. 

For instance, not being able to easily replace its router could be frustrating if you prefer to use your own hardware. But most people won’t feel the need to do so. And while its Ultrafast packages can deliver very fast download speeds, the upload rates aren’t that impressive. 

The Sky Broadband Essential ADSL package is also very expensive considering what it offers. But the fibre deals represent better value, and there are lots of alternatives out there if you can’t get or don’t want fibre.

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