Wifi rubbish, will sky increase prices so i can leave

[Stacewa]

Hi so our wifi is useless. We get around 35mb and are high users with multiple items (3 kids). My phone when connected to wifi is so slow and barely works I'm using all my data, kids games buffer etc. We have a wifi booster upstairs which set gave us. 

Also have an appointment today for a 'wifi expert' to come out and have a look.

Anyway in my area they have recently laid down new lines and virgin media has just gone live and I can get 1000+mb speed but I'm still in contract until August 2026. 

Are sky likely to increase prices soon so I can leave mid contract? Really can't cope with this crap wifi and low speeds.

I asked sky if I can get virigj here why can't I get faster speeds with sky but they said they don't use same lines are virgin?

Thanks 

[TimmyBGood]

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@Stacewa wrote:

Are sky likely to increase prices soon so I can leave mid contract?

In the UK the annual increase takes effect on April 1st.

I asked sky if I can get virigj here why can't I get faster speeds with sky but they said they don't use same lines are virgin?

That's correct: historically Virgin lays its own private network infrastructure in limited areas while Sky (and most other ISPs) use the national Openreach network.

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[Chrisee]

@Stacewa Sky do not use Virgin's lines in the UK currently they only offer services over Openreach's network although they will add City Fibre at some point this year. You can check here https://www.openreach.com/fibre-checker for when Openreach will upgrade your area to full fibre.

Sky normally apply their annual increase in April and depending on the % they may have to offer customers an opportunity to switch without penalty but Ofcom are changing the rules for price increases this year so whether that will happen is unclear . You can ask Virgin if they will cover any cancellation charges from Sky - Sky pay up to £100 to new customers for these charges- or you can ask Sky to wave exit charges which has been known to happen if they cannot match competitors speeds but legally they dont have to.

One last point Virgin ran fibre to my road 18 months before Openreach but I think every one who bought their service have now switched to ISPs using Openreach.

[FLC]

@Stacewa 

Like most ISPs, Sky have an annual price increase baked into the terms of your contract. So that won't be an option to cancel penalty free.

[Stacewa]

Thanks everyone. Suppose I'll just have to hold out until contract is up. 

Checked open reach and it says up to December 2026 for my street. 

[TimmyBGood]

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@Stacewa wrote: 

Checked open reach and it says up to December 2026 for my street. 

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That's the target date for completion of the national project: in this context it just means no specific date before then has been scheduled for that particular area yet.

[Ruta2025]

He was right, Virgin using different lines, but you can check online, maybe Virgin already covering your area.

[FLC]

@Stacewa 

As @Chrisee alluded to, ISPs will sometimes contribute towards cancellation costs. If Virgin has just gone live then they may be keen to try to get as many subscibers onboard as quickly as they can, so certainly worth asking the question of them. Although be aware that such schemes generally put an equivilent credit on your new bill, they don't directly pay the losing ISP. So settling that will still be your responsibility.

[Stacewa]

Thanks everyone.

Had broadband expert out from sky today (were supposed to come yesterday but never). Obviously kids were out so nothing was being used and WiFi was in within contacted limit. 

She said basically it is likely the prices will increase in April and I should be able to leave then. Fingers crossed