Broadband remote activation was scheduled 2 days ago. This did not occur and no update from SKY.

[Ashley7blue]

I purchased a SKY broadband package a week before I moved into this property, it was promised that the activation of my broadband would be on the 1st of December up until midnight. Not only did this not occur, but I also got no updates from SKY as to why this happened or any estimation of the delay. 

I work from home, so having a stable internet connection is critical. I'm in a home that doesn't have good phone reception, so I need wifi. I was told I would have internet from the 1st, giving me the confidence to purchase this package, please can someone help me resolve this issue?

Kind regards,
Ashley

[caesarome]

You will need to call Sky to find out why Openreach did activate this for you. It might be that they are behind with their work as they are still recovering from the strikes that has been affecting the company over the last few weeks. Although there shouldn't be anymore they probably do have a backlog of work to get through.

[Ashley7blue]

@caesarome Thank you for that information. I just got off the phone with SKY and they were told by Openreach that there will be a delay of 20 days! I don't understand how a remote activation could possibly be delayed by that long, do you know if there are any possible solutions to getting internet in the meantime? I'm now worried about how I'm going to be able to do my job with no stable internet connection for 3 weeks. 

[GD1]

@Ashley7blue  You need to be aware it's a domestic service if your reliant on it for work then you'll need to source a mobile connection, it would be handy should a fault occur.

[Ashley7blue]

@GD1 I understand that a mobile connection would be good to act as a backup over a small period of time when SKY broadband may be down, but most people that work from home rely on a domestic service such as this. Phone networks are relatively more intermittent, which is why people would still get broadband even if living close to a mobile mast.

Regarding the strikes @caesarome, as far as I'm aware the latest Openreach strike was in October and it was late November when I was promised by SKY that they would deliver on getting my internet activated by December. I wouldn't have purchased the SKY Broadband package at all and sought out an alternative option if I knew there were potential delays of an entire month and now I have no better option but to wait it out with SKY. I just don't understand how the expected activation date could be so vastly far away from the actual activation date (assuming no further delays) with no solution in the meantime.

[daveNOS]

@Ashley7blue Most people who work from home will use an appropriate service that supports work and or business use by way of service level agreements for priority installs/activations and repairs, domestic services such as the one Sky supply's have low service level agreements.

If you predominantly work from home then you need to use an appropriate service.

[Ashley7blue]

@daveNOS It is not typical for an individual worker to get a business line. I would completely agree if this were my own business, however, domestic SKY broadband is an appropriate service for millions of people who work from home.  I didn't need priority installation/activation, I made sure to purchase the broadband package well in advance to account for domestic lead times. SKY has tripled the expected lead time for activation AFTER I've already engaged in a contract. Regardless of this being a domestic service, that's an outrageous delay, particularly because all the physical hardware and connections are in place, it just needs to be remotely activated.

[GD1]

@Ashley7blue  You need to take it up with Sky, there isn't musch we can do to help other than offer advice.

[Ashley7blue]

@GD1 Apologies if I've come off confrontational, I'm just frustrated and I do appreciate everyone's advice. May I ask if you know the best way to contact SKY about this issue?

[GD1]

@Ashley7blue   This link should help:
(UK) https://www.sky.com/help/home Scroll down and click on ‘Need more help’ and it provides a 0333 number
(ROI) on the same link change the flag in the very bottom corner to the ROI flag to obtain an 0818 number.

Stay on the line and don’t hang up if prompted to. Apparently the quieter times to ring are just after 7am or about 9pm.

[Ashley7blue]

Thank you for that, but unfortunately, I've already tried this and got no explanation in terms of what's happened to cause a month's delay to my broadband activation.

[daveNOS · Accepted solution]

@Ashley7blue Realistically your unlikely to get an explanation as Openreach probably haven't provided one.

If Openreach have any backlog in your area due to the recent strikes or other planned works then you will have to wait until they catch up/finish.

Sky's domestic service isn't appropriate for those who predominantly work from home(not to mention a breach of T&C's), the only people who it may be appropriate for are those who occasionally work from home due to issues like you are encountering, it's a cheap service that has the lowest priority for any work required by Openreach.

[Skull+Treaty]

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@daveNOS wrote:

Sky's domestic service isn't appropriate for those who predominantly work from home(not to mention a breach of T&C's),

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They really ought to sync up those, working from home is one of the first they mention https://www.sky.com/help/articles/broadband-tips-when-working-from-home

[Mr+Slant]

@Skull+Treaty 

...and on the flip-side you are specifically prohibited from using the "business" service for anything other than "business" usage.

Thst's Sky for you though, barely coherent and usually nonsense terms of service which frequently contradict themselves, sometimes in the same sentence. Not made better by Comcast these days either.

Anyone requiring a service for work purposes should have a backup method of connection or use a more suitable ISP. If you don't then no sympathy at all I'm afraid - you bought cheap, you got cheap now live with it rather than moaning about it.

[Ashley7blue]

@Mr+Slant You're right, typically I would be fine using a 4G/5G mobile connection for work purposes as a backup, but the area I've recently moved into is has intermittent 4G speeds. Ultimately, neither of my two usual ways of getting internet are doing the job at the moment. I didn't think £50 a month was 'buying cheap' but point taken, I'm looking into purchasing a router that uses a sim to propagate a 4G signal, so hopefully that serves as an additional backup.