FTTP from Gigaclear & FTTC from Sky, will Sky be able to provide when the copper connection stops?

[BrianGJSteer]

I have a question, at the moment I have a both FTTP 500 Mbps from Gigaclear and FTTC, over copper for the last mile or so, 40 Mbps with our phone line from Sky. Would I be right in thinking that the Sky broadband and phone line will eventually completely cease at some point in the next year or two, leaving me with just the 500 Mbps from Gigaclear? Thus Sky won't be able to provide internet or VoIP as there is no other FTTP connection available.

[GD1]

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@BrianGJSteer wrote:

I have a question, at the moment I have a both FTTP 500 Mbps from Gigaclear and FTTC, over copper for the last mile or so, 40 Mbps with our phone line from Sky. Would I be right in thinking that the Sky broadband and phone line will eventually completely cease at some point in the next year or two, leaving me with just the 500 Mbps from Gigaclear? No, I don't know how you came to this conclusion and think you've got things confused here.  PTSN is being switched off and talk services delivered via VOIP.  Until your area is upgraded to FTTP the copper lines will remain in place.

Thus Sky won't be able to provide internet or VoIP as there is no other FTTP connection available.   See above

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[TimmyBGood · Accepted solution]

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@BrianGJSteer wrote:

Would I be right in thinking that the Sky broadband and phone line will eventually completely cease at some point in the next year or two, leaving me with just the 500 Mbps from Gigaclear?

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As @GD1 indicates, if the scheduled end of PSTN (originally December 2025, now December 2027) was going to kill off every remaining Openreach copper broadband connection, their ISP clients might justifiably be somewhat upset...

The national copper network can and will continue to carry digital data to customers who optical fibre has yet to reach, in some cases into the coming decade.  It's analogue voice telephony (and exchange power) which ceases.

[BrianGJSteer]

What I was trying to ask was as I already have an FTTP connection from Gigaclear, there is no option for Sky to provide an FTTP connection.  So what were Sky going to be able to provide once the old fashioned copper network is as such, 'switched off', my FTTC connection.

I currently have both Gigaclear and Sky for failover as I use a dual WAN Synology router set to failover. I spoke to a Sky technician a few hours ago to find out that Sky can provide a SOGEA Superfast 35, 36 Mbps connection that can provide both broadband and of course VoIP, so there is an option I can take to retain the two broadband connections I need for resliency especially as I work from home, including a VoIP phone line. I had never heard of SOGEA until I spoke to tech support as when I spoke to sales they gave me the standard spiel you will be moved to FTTP. They couldn't understand that was already being used but not by Sky and had no idea about SOGEA the other option.

[TimmyBGood]

@BrianGJSteer 

The original date for PSTN switch-off was well in advance of the optical rollout schedule, which always seemed rather odd. 

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2024/05/openreach-update-as-analogue-uk-phone-switch-off-delay... 

The revised date now matches the Openreach target to have every 'commercially viable' property within reach of FTTP, but that still leaves several million addresses out of scope and relying on legacy copper.