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Sky Broadband customers across the UK could enjoy an upgrade to faster full-fibre speeds.
It's all thanks to a "new partnership" with CityFibre, which will connect Sky customers to the brand's network of fibre-optic cables. Sky follows in the footsteps of Giffgaff, which is looking to compete with BT and EE.
These next-generation cables offer multi-gigabit download speeds — that's 28x faster than the average household broadband speed across the UK. At those speeds, you'll be able to download Denis Villeneuve's blockbuster Dune: Part II in 4K Ultra HD from iTunes in under 20 seconds.
Given this science-fiction epic has a runtime of 2h 47m, that's very impressive ...although, it does mean you won't have enough time to make popcorn in the microwave while it's downloading onto your device.
For comparison, with the average UK broadband speed of 69Mbps, you'll need to wait 9m 39s before you can press the "Play" button and start watching.
As it stands, Sky Broadband relies on BT-owned Openreach to connect to its customers. This is the single largest broadband infrastructure network across the UK — connecting 99% of homes and businesses. However, Openreach is racing to upgrade its infrastructure to newer, fibre-optic cables.
Ahead of the release of Despicable Me 4, Sky has partnered with the Minions to promote its broadband and TV offers
SKY PRESS OFFICE
Rival suppliers like BT, EE, TalkTalk, Plusnet, Three, and Vodafone only offer broadband packages with a 24-month minimum contract term. Virgin Media remains the only nationwide broadband supplier with 18-month contracts as the default for new customers, while some smaller providers — like Hyperoptic and Community Fibre — offer people the choice when signing up.
If you lock in an affordable broadband deal, these longer contract terms can be a huge advantage, since it'll extend the duration of the savings. Switching to a new broadband provider during the Black Friday sales or other major sales events can be a great way to ensure your monthly bills will remain low for years to come.
However, there's undeniably less flexibility with a longer contract and those who move to a new address, want to bundle TV packages, downgrade to slower speeds, or move to another provider could find the extra six months more limiting.
The change to Sky Broadband contracts will only apply to new customers who sign up from today, or existing customers who decide to renegotiate a new contract with the brand. It doesn't impact the best Sky Stream deals, since these always offer the choice between a one-month rolling deal and longer contracts.
Speaking to GB News about the decision to change its broadband plans, a spokesperson for Sky told us: “The standard length of Sky TV, Sky Broadband and NOW Powered by Sky contracts have changed to 24 months, extending the in-contract benefits we know our customers value.
"These changes apply to new or re-contracting customers — those who are currently in contract will remain on their existing term until it ends."
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
For a limited time, Sky has waived its one-off set-up fee across all broadband contracts. Prices start from £28 per month for full-fibre speeds of 145Mbps, rising to £44 per month for its fastest 900Mbps speeds — that's 13x quicker than the average home broadband speed in the UK, as measured by Ofcom.
Sky Broadband customers will benefit from a minimum guaranteed speed, and can unlock 50% off mobile data plans for their phone when you switch from your current SIM provider to Sky too.
