Can't upgrade my broadband from the old ultrafast to the new!

[Jdogswag]

I am on the original ultrafast broadband package with g-fast connection with speeds of 145mbs. I want to upgrade to ultrafast plus to then go gigafast (when it is back on sale) but the sky website says i'm on the fastest package for my address which is not true!

Openreach installed all the fibre upgrades to my road and if I join sky as a new customer in my address I get offered all the ultrafast plus packages and gigafast (before it was removed) but I can't upgrade myself as apparently the system thinks I'm on the "fastest package" due them naming their new broadband packages ultrafast which was the same as the old package I'm on which causes a system fault in the upgrade system!!

Hoping this gets fixed soon otherwise I'm gonna get tempted by the fibre offers from all the junk mail from by or virgin as I'm fed up being stuck on my slow "ultrafast" broadband!

[Chrisee]

@Jdogswag if you are on a G.Fast connection using. a copper phoneline Sky wont pay to switch your line to full fibre until you are out of contract. If you are on fibre to your home it should be simple to upgrade but you msy need to call them to do so.

[Jdogswag]

@Chrisee i spoke to engineers on the phone and they told me it's a system error where as I am on the first ultrafast package and by that I mean the one that came out 5 years ago, when they launched their new products and called it the same thing it cause the system to think I'm on the latest package when I'm not! 

Nothing to do with phone line as I'm in the area that is now fibre installed and offered this as new customer! My problem is I can't even upgrade to Ultrafast plus! I would have to leave sky to rejoin to be able to get the package I want at the moment which is just backwards!

[Chrisee]

@Jdogswag Sorry but I have to disagree as your reasoning is incorrect. Sky only started selling FTTP under 3 years ago strongly implies your Ultrafast connection uses G.Fast.  At the moment currently they sell both type of connections but increasingly G.Fast will be phased out as no new cabinets are being installed. That technology is limited to 150Mb/s faster speeds are only offered over direct fibre (FTTP) therefore to access those you need a new line run which costs the ISP and Openreach money even when an area has an availability..

Sky appear to have an internal policy not to convert customers from G.Fast to FTTP which is a commercial decision not an engineering one. At some point they will havecto make that switch as Openreach finally decommissions the copper network but thst can be years away. In the meantime both Sky and Openreach want to get a return on the investment in G.Fast kit.

If you want a faster service from Sky and you are not in a minimum term contract you will have to convince them to make you an exception best way is to get  a competitive quote for a FTTP product from another ISP and see if they  will agree to match it. 

However be aware switching from any copper service to full fibre can be complex and are prone to going wrong due to a shortage of Openreach engineers leaving consumers with no service it happens we see this reported regularly on the forum. In practice apparently few people actually use the extra bandwidth Ultrafast Plus and Gigafast provides so you may not find much improvement beyond speed tests.

[Jdogswag]

@Chrisee i have literally been this by the sky broadband engineering team and the order team that I am in a glitch on the system due to my original g-fast ultrafast package now being called the FTTP ultrafast package, even their own system cannot upgrade me but as a new customer, and was told this by the engineer, that I could cancel my package and then rejoin to be able to upgrade to the latest ultrafast package or wait until the coders fix the system!

This has nothing to do with swapping from g-fast to fibre as I can't even upgrade unless I quit sky which makes no sense for a company trying to keep its users!

[Chrisee]

@Jdogswag whatever my info came from a briefing with the Sky Broadband marketing team i atended in November but the result is the same. 

[Jdogswag]

@Chrisee i am out of contract and willing to pay to upgrade, but their whole system even to the engineer and order team can't upgrade me without me leaving or their system needing a code update which could take ages!

I'm stuck in the middle here as I don't want the hastle of quitting to get my upgrade and the loss of service in between but I also need the faster packages for my setup at home!

[Chrisee]

@Jdogswag I dont work for Sky so cannot do anything other than sympathise you are not the first hit by an apparently stupid situation like this.  If you have complained and they say no you are stuck as they cannot be forced to change their mind.