Sky UK Cuts Fibre Max Price and Removes Fibre Unlimited Broadband UPDATE3

UK ISP Sky Broadband (Sky plc) has removed their FTTC based Sky Fibre Unlimited (36Mbps average download speed) and phone package from their line-up of bundles. Instead they retain only their 11Mbps standard broadband and 63Mbps Sky Fibre Max options, albeit at a further reduced monthly price.

Sky hasn’t said why they’ve decided to only promote their Fibre Max (FTTC) and Broadband Unlimited (ADSL2+) packages to new customers via their website (existing subscribers are unaffected), although it could well be a precursor to the forthcoming launch of their new FTTP and G.fast (Openreach) based “ultrafast broadband” packages (here). They may not wish to confuse consumers with too many options.

The operator has also dropped the already discounted monthly price of Sky Fibre Max by a further -£3, which puts it much closer to the position that Sky Fibre Unlimited once held.

Sky Unlimited
* Average download speed 11Mbps (0.8Mbps upload)
* Included £50 Prepaid Mastercard

PRICE: £18 a month for 18 months (£30 thereafter) + £19.95 one-off setup

Sky Fibre Max
* Average download speed 63Mbps (18Mbps upload)
* Included £50 Prepaid Mastercard

PRICE: £27 a month for 18 months (£43.99 thereafter) + £59.95 one-off setup

As usual both packages include unlimited usage, a wireless router (Sky Q Hub on Fibre), Sky Talk line rental (standard UK call rates), unlimited access to WiFi hotspots from The Cloud, Sky Shield (Parental Controls and Anti-Malware), Sky Talk Shield (nuisance call blocking) and email.

UPDATE 10:28am

Feedback from several customers has confirmed that, as part of today’s change, Sky are also sending out letters to existing Sky Fibre Unlimited subscribers that claims they will be upgraded to Sky Fibre Max free of charge (BT did something similar last year). We are checking to see if there are any caveats or exclusions to this offer (the letters have only gone out recently so not everybody will have received one yet).

UPDATE 4:02pm

Sky has confirmed to ISPreview.co.uk that customers in certain areas will automatically be moved to Fibre Max, which we suspect may be a reference to those who can actually benefit from the faster speeds on offer (i.e. if you’re on a 40Mbps FTTC profile but can’t actually get better than that speed due to copper line limits then obviously there’s no point in you being moved to the faster tier).

As mentioned earlier, no extra monthly cost will be incurred by the customer from this change. We should clarify that the old Sky Fibre Unlimited plan may still exist under the hood, but it’s no longer being displayed on their product page for new subscribers (you’ll probably see it if your estimated speeds during the order phase fall into its performance class).

UPDATE 11th October 2018

By the sounds of it the upgrade is being deployed in phases over a 6 month period. Many of the letters we’ve seen state that the “upgrades start in December and run through to spring.” Take note that the “average speed” of 63Mbps that is stated in these letters is just the general advertised rate, while your own line may go faster or slower depending on its quality and length.

One aspect that isn’t being widely reported is that the Sky Fibre Max upgrade will also give you faster uploads (the 80/20 FTTC profile supports speeds of up to 20Mbps but the average is 18Mbps).