SKY no longer do phone service WITHOUT broadband

[Arrows]

This is just a note to inform others.

Due to BT not installing Fibre (FTTP or FTTH) to our area for at least another 3 years and the company "Fibre Heroes" actually installing fibre to our area now I decided to have the fibre installed and move from my 28Mbit SKY to 1Gbit with Fibre Heroes.

Originally way back many moons ago SKY like other companys started to dabble in providing a phone service to customers. Later on we broadband added to our SKY package etc.

So with fibre heroes fibre now installed I spoke with SKY yesterday to just cancel the broadband element of my SKY packages (keeping SKY TV and Phone Talk) when I was told that SKY no longer provide a seperate phone service, so  my options would be to keep paying £44 a month for SKY broadband even though I would not be using it OR cancel the broadband ALONG with the phone line OR try and get the phone service moved to another provider.

I am now trying to move my phone service over to the Fibre Heroes ISP IDNET and use it over VOIP.

Like I said this is just to help inform anyone else who might be thinking over getting broadband over fibre with fibre heroes and thinking they can keep the phone service with SKY.

Consequently, the fibre install and monthly payments to IDNET for internet access is cheaper and faster if one wants to know.

[Highlinder]

@Arrows  You do know if you move to any of the providers for FTTP that your landline will go to VOIP regardless.

[TimmyBGood]

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@Highlinder wrote:

@Arrows  You do know if you move to any of the providers for FTTP that your landline will go to VOIP regardless.

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Fibre Heroes  are an altnet so in this case there is an option to retain a service over Openreach copper alongside the new FTTP. However, as noted, Sky won't provide line rental for a phone service without broadband.

[Highlinder]

@TimmyBGood  Learn something new everyday. Just thought with the stop sell coming up that this would not happen unless in certain circumstances.

[TimmyBGood]

@Highlinder 

In a Stop Sell area a change of service on Openreach wouldn't be possible without moving to SOGEA but existing provision continues with PSTN until the ISP eventually has to switch existing users (and so far none of them have announced when or how that's actually going to happen ; )

[cymru123]

From September you'll see more providers start their mass migration of existing customers off the PSTN.

From September too when the nationwide stop sell comes providers will need to move you off the PSTN even if you make contract changes to your package along with those that move providers.

However some have already started their mass migration (in a phased fashion) and majority are involved with the trial sites.

In the trial sites both Openreach and providers have been sending out Comms and getting Customers to contact them to move them to their internet based phone service.

As part of the trial and as the closure date comes towards the end Openreach have implemented service degradation methods to proactively get the end customers to contact their provider and arrange for the move off the PSTN.

These proactive measure involve reducing broadband speeds and also re-routing non free phone numbers to the provider if they have not yet moved off the PSTN.

Example postcard from Openreach to one of the trial areas:

 

[TimmyBGood]

@cymru123 

I'm interested to see if Sky are going to write off several million otherwise perfectly functional Q routers (which would make a nonsense of their environmental claims) or will release an external ATA to work over ethernet.

I bet someone is regretting not specifying the Q Hub with a USB port.

[cymru123]

@TimmyBGood from what I know so far in the trial areas for Sky sent out new routers that had the telephone port on the back (Same as to what BT and Virgin Media are doing)

However like TalkTalk and some other smaller providers an external ATA device would be useful and for those that want to use their own router (but for now don't see this happening)