Broadband provision query

[Steve-35]

Hi all,

As per the title I'm looking for some advice on the provisioning side of things re Sky's broadband packages. 

To give some background/context I've had Sky broadband for a number of years however like everything else the price was creeping upwards & despite many phone calls to Sky they were unable to better the price I was paying of £43 a month so I decided to switch providers to BT who were offering the same gigafast (900mbps) speed for a lower monthly price with the service having gone live yesterday. 

Fast forward to today & Sky have come back to me offering the same package as I previously had with them & that I currently have with BT for £27 a month.

Thinking this was a bargain & it would be a straightforward takeover of the existing Openreach fibre connection I signed up online for the offer given. 

Now this is where the issues arise in terms of installation....Sky have booked & want to send CityFibte round to carry out the install, something I don't need or want as I have the Openreach connection that BT are currently using & the very same connection that Sky used previously also to supply my broadband. 

I've been on the phone to the call centre twice this morning & been through 4 different agents to query why the existing Openreach connection can't or isn't being used & I'm no further forward. The last agent I spoke to said that Openreach had requested CityFibte to do the installation which doesn't seem right to me as my understanding is that only Openreach & their respective contractors can work on the Openreach network & only CityFibre & their contractors can work on the CityFibre network, meaning that neither of them can work on or touch eiach others equipment in any way shape or form. He also said that only CityFibre can provide the 900mbps connection despite the fact that 48hrs ago Sky were providing that same speed via the Openreach fibre connection that's been in my home for the last 3 & a half years!

Besides not needing or wanting the extra work involved in installing a new connection via CityFibre I've had issues with them in the past where they've refused to carry out the installation because they couldn't get permission from anyone to dig through the garden of the property below me. I told them at that time some 8 or 9 months ago now that the property, just like it is now, is empty, uninhabited & I've no idea who owns it but they still wanted or expected me to go & find out who it belonged to to get permission for them to dig the garden. 

Sorry for the long post but f anyone has any ideas on how to sort this or who's right or wrong here I'd love to hear it. To add insult to injury of the 4 agents I spoke with English didn't appear to be their primary language & one thought it was a good idea to patch my call directly through to Openreach where I was given 6 options to choose from, none of which I had a clue what they meant so just hung up the call. 

[TimmyBGood]

@Steve-35 

Sky now has a carriage deal with CityFibre, and where both optical networks are in reach of an address they will always use CityFibre (with a new installation if necessary) even if there's already an Openreach ONT in place.

There appears to be no flexibility in this: salespeople just won't get an Openreach option on their screen (which probably explains the confusion you mentioned above)

Presumably the CityFibre wholesale rates make this financially worthwhile for Sky, and the customer actually gets a better deal because CityFibre connections are much more symmetrical than Openreach can offer.

[Me134]

@Steve-35 Also, even if the property below is empty, they still can't just start digging trenches without explicit permission from the owner, that I'm afraid is your responsibility to sort. Best cancelling the Sky order, is the BT BB still active and not pending cancellation?

[Steve-35]

@TimmyBGood Thanks for the reply. 

To clarify, the existing Openreach ONT & FTTP line are or will be obsolete to all intents & purposes going forward with Sky opting to use CityFibre for a complete new installation instead?  

If that is the case & I've not misunderstood you then I'm either going to be faced with the same battle/argument I've had with their installers previously surrounding permissions for laying cables & securing their ladders to the property or cancelling the order entirely. 

[Steve-35]

@Me134BT Broadband is still active, not due to be disconnected until 15th June. 

As for permissions, all fine & well saying it's my responsibility but how am I expected to get permission from an empty home? Equally am I to be expected to contact every estate agent within my locality to see if they are marketing the house for sale or rent or find out if the now deceased person who previously lived in the property below me had any extended family in order to contact them & ask them for the relevant permissions?

if the house below was occupied, permission was sought & granted or I was aware of an alternative installation method/route then all would be well but there is no alternative installation route, the house below is empty & as a result of what would appear to be a change in policy or installation provider or process from Sky the only viable option for installation via existing Openreach infrastructure would no longer seem to be an option. 

[Me134]

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@Steve-35 wrote:

@TimmyBGood Thanks for the reply. 

To clarify, the existing Openreach ONT & FTTP line are or will be obsolete to all intents & purposes going forward with Sky opting to use CityFibre for a complete new installation instead?  

If that is the case & I've not misunderstood you then I'm either going to be faced with the same battle/argument I've had with their installers previously surrounding permissions for laying cables & securing their ladders to the property or cancelling the order entirely. 

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For Sky BB (at the moment at least) yes, but of course there are other suppliers who don't have an agreement with Cityfibre starting with BT by the sounds of it.

[Me134]

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@Steve-35 wrote:

@Me134BT Broadband is still active, not due to be disconnected until 15th June. 

As for permissions, all fine & well saying it's my responsibility but how am I expected to get permission from an empty home? Equally am I to be expected to contact every estate agent within my locality to see if they are marketing the house for sale or rent or find out if the now deceased person who previously lived in the property below me had any extended family in order to contact them & ask them for the relevant permissions?

if the house below was occupied, permission was sought & granted or I was aware of an alternative installation method/route then all would be well but there is no alternative installation route, the house below is empty & as a result of what would appear to be a change in policy or installation provider or process from Sky the only viable option for installation via existing Openreach infrastructure would no longer seem to be an option. 

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The fact that it's difficult for you is neither here nor there, they'll still not proceed and end up in a potential legal battle.

[TimmyBGood]

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@Steve-35 wrote:

@TimmyBGood Thanks for the reply. 

To clarify, the existing Openreach ONT & FTTP line are or will be obsolete to all intents & purposes going forward with Sky opting to use CityFibre for a complete new installation instead?  

---

If you place an order with Sky, yes.

 ISPs who don't have a CityFibre carriage deal would provision over the existing Openreach FTTP circuit: this would include BT/EE and most others.

[stereohaven]

@Steve-35 

It is true that Sky do prioritise a CityFibre connection, even if an Openreach ONT and Full Fibre is already available. They may not even be able to honour £27 per month on Openreach as CityFibre is known to have more favourable wholesale terms for some ISPs.

Personally, I would just cancel the move as it is very difficult (as you have found), to get through to knowledgable UK based support these days at Sky sadly. 

Openreach are doing some deals for ISPs at the moment which I have seen reflected by some already, albeit nothing as low as £27.