Potential New customer - need advice on package terminology

[Rontv]

I am currently with Virgin and may consider moving to Sky, but am confused by terminology.

I need:

At least 500 broadband speed

Cinema

Sky Sports HD

Anytime telephone calls (UK)

Netflix (Standard)

Trying to work out costs?

Can you advise?

[nigea99 · Accepted solution]

---

@Rontv wrote:

I am currently with Virgin and may consider moving to Sky, but am confused by terminology.

I need:

At least 500 broadband speed

Cinema

Sky Sports HD

Anytime telephone calls (UK)

Netflix (Standard)

Trying to work out costs?

Can you advise?

---

Best deals are probably achieved by calling rather than relying on the offers online

I am afraid I can't help with the Broadband / Talk terminology

TV Wise the 'base' minimum package is Signature which includes the entertainment & News channels and others 

Netflix is called Ultimate add on & currently I think bundled with Signature (The whole bundle may be called Ultimate TV) 

Netflix is a standard charge for the 'Basic level'  but can be increased by adding  SKY add on packs :

https://www.sky.com/help/articles/netflix-faqs
Netflix Basic plan (1 screen + SD) as standard
Netflix Standard (2 screens + HD) by adding the SKY HD pack - So you would need the SKY HD add on

Netflix Premium (4 screens + UHD/HDR) by adding the SKY Ultra HD pack (requires the HD pack first)

These SKY add ons (HD & UHD) being SKY add ons, of course, apply to SKY content as well as opening up Netflix levels

SKY Cinema is just that (but needs the base package I mention)

SKY Sports in the UK is in HD as standard (although it appears as 2 separate items on bills - SKY SPorts & SKY Sports HD) (BTW The Sports HD does not affect the Netflix level)

Again you must have the base entertainment package

Hope this helps

[TimmyBGood]

@Rontv 

Sky, like most ISPs, does not lay its own network cabling.  500Mbs broadband would be 'Ultrafast Plus' and only available if Openreach has FTTP ('full fibre') infrastructure in your region, while the speediest service is 'Gigafast' (900/100Mbs) also over Openreach FTTP.  In the absence of full fibre Sky can only offer 'up to' 80Mbs FTTC (or possibly 150Mbs G.fast in some areas) : there are some fundamental limitations to delivering data across 'phone' cable pairs.

All Sky Broadband has a bundled voice call service: the basic version is Sky Talk 'Pay to Talk' with no included minutes and for those you'd need Sky Talk 'Anytime Extra'.

[TimmyBGood]

@Rontv

Incidentally it's important to understand that Virgin gains some inherent advantage from financing, installing, owning and maintaining its private coaxial cable network for combined television, internet and voice delivery (even though this is within reach of less than half of all UK households) and it makes direct comparison between them and almost every other ISP tricky: they basically have a unique business model.