No Easy Route to FTTP from G.fast on UK ISP Sky Broadband
Customers of Sky Broadband’s old G.fast based “Ultrafast” broadband packages on Openreach’s UK network, specifically those looking to upgrade to one of the provider’s latest full fibre (FTTP) based packages, are still struggling to do so – after several years – due to the ongoing lack of a smooth upgrade path.
In case anybody has forgotten. G.fast was an interim hybrid-fibre technology, which was capable of download speeds up to around 300Mbps, but which ultimately ended up being abandoned (here) in favour of a greater focus on rolling out Fibre-to-the-Premises technology. The service only ever covered around 2.8 million UK premises, and Sky remains one of the few ISPs to still offer it (here).
Openreach has since overbuilt many of their G.fast areas with FTTP and so naturally some of Sky’s existing customers on their older ultrafast plans have been trying to upgrade. The catch is that Sky Broadband still seems to lack a smooth upgrade path, which results in somewhat of a messy approach.
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Customers who attempt to upgrade are typically being given one of several alternative options, each with their own unique caveats (assuming you can get Sky’s support to recognise FTTP availability in a G.fast area, which is another issue). The first option is usually a tedious downgrade to ADSL and then upgrade to FTTP, which results in the user having to suffer a period of very slow speeds.
The other option is to cancel the existing package and then order FTTP as a new service from Sky, but this can sometimes result in the loss of an existing phone number, as well as the possibility of downtime and complications for those still within a minimum contract term (though we understand Sky will sometimes waive the usual penalties). Suffice to say, it’s a bit of a mess.
The issue has come up a few times in our inbox over the past few months, and a bit of Googling also found similar gripes on Sky’s Community Forum (and here).
Example Customer Complaint 1
An engineer and sky customer service told me at the time that I could “upgrade” to FTTP when it was available. Now that is it, I’m told I’d be without the net for two weeks as I would have to cancel before I could re-order. I can’t do that as I work from home and need the net.
Example Customer Complaint 2
I’m in exactly the same position. But it took a long time for Sky to admit that I couldn’t upgrade from G.Fast to FTTP. They kept saying that it wasn’t available. It’s only when my new neighbour got full fibre and I pressed the matter, that they admitted it was available but I couldn’t upgrade.
As a long term Sky customer (almost 25 years), this is the most disapointed I’ve been. When my contract ends in February, unless they can give me a definite date for when I can upgrade, I will be cancelling my Sky Broadband.
Example Customer Complaint 3
Called tonight as was excited to see openreach have finally finished installing fttp in my area. Currently on g.fast, since Mid 2020. Initially told no other ultrafast fibre products were available in my area until I pointed out Sky’s own website says it is, as does openreach.
Then got told that I’d have to downgrade to ADSL first, which isn’t an option give I’ve got Sky Glass and 3 Stream boxes, work from home and have 2 teenage sons who game constantly and would kill me if we only got 4Mbps for even a second.
Next option they came up with was to change provider to a fttp product and then cancel during the cooloff period and come back to Sky. Not sure why anyone would do that. Was told it was a known system issue that was being worked on, but given this thread is 6 months old it doesn’t seem to be a priority.
The fact that Sky Broadband will only have a relatively tiny G.fast base and has yet to resolve this problem, after several years of waiting, suggests to us that the provider may not have much interest in spending the money to adapt their ordering systems to support a smooth transition to FTTP. But hopefully we’re wrong and the mantra of better late than never holds true.
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The irony of all this is that it means the most straightforward way for Sky’s G.fast users to get FTTP is by switching away to a different ISP, which is the path some of those in this boat have already opted to take. We have asked Sky for a comment and await their response.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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If you can’t get satisfaction from your existing supplier go elsewhere. No doubt you’ll get a much better deal as a new customer with a new supplier.
100%. Go elsewhere – Sky categorically told my father that they had no offers on the 80mbit FTTC service (and they didn’t) when the contract was up and wanted double the price. So we took the line elsewhere. As a result, it’s now cheaper and also full fibre with another openreach provider. Plus, bonus that there’s no horrible sky router anymore and the horrible flaky 50+yr old phone line that openwretch insisted was perfectly fine is gone.
if you’re not under contract sure. I have G.Fast because Openreach said we’re not getting FTTP. 6 months later, Openreach says we are getting it. But I still have an entire year left on my contract now.
I did with with TalkTalk, had to speak to a member of the team who sorted it all out. Just needs human intervention.
Difficult to sympathise with people who are so keen to keep giving money to Sky, but this does sound pretty annoying.
if you’re stuck in a contract then you have no choice. you are then perfectly entitled to know why Sky is refusing to take more of your money and lock you into a new contract for a superior service.
unsure why you think people would want to move away from Sky if it (normally) works for them – prices and quality of service seem fine, and they share the duopoly with BT in as far as ISPs that provide IPv6 on a large scale.
to add. I assume this is also an issue in terms of Equinox – isn’t that built on the idea that ISPs who take the discounts are supposed to get their customers onto FTTP whenever possible – and yet here we have customers who are voluntarily asking to upgrade and are being refused.
Nah g.fast is rubbish and there are many areas not overbuilt with any FTTP and not likely to be until 2029.
If the majority hasn’t been overbuilt already I suspect it won’t be long. Those areas aren’t being discriminated against they get built if it makes sense. G.fast doesn’t seem to be a factor in the calculation.
Yeah I was on g.fast and OR came along and put in fibre. Have since moved to YouFibre.
Actually on our exchange they have upgraded all the streets that didn’t have gfast to have fttp. And left the streets with gfast with that, and have now marked the exchange as done and left. They say there is no plan to update our road.
So it seams very much like we got screwed by already having gfast
If we’re posting anecdotes I can give you a postcode that went from ADSL-only to FTTC, G.fast and then FTTP in about a three year period.
It should be a very simple renewal/regrade. Suggests to me that there is something very wrong with their backend if it cannot handle a simple switch to FTTP from any other technology.
Probably a simple case of gfast being equal to FTTP in their backend systems (someone probably used the same identifier to save time). I bet they are just waiting for the problem to resolve itself (move away, get fed up and leave). Its just not a priority to fix it.
How so?
Systems only do what they have been designed, built and tested to do. If no-one in the business has identified this customer journey, obtained funding for it, got it prioritised in the work stack, had it designed and built, tested, iterated and launched then of course the system won’t do it.
It’s rare that either a minor development costs less than £100k, so someone has to make the case that it’s worth spending the money, and spending it now, to make the journey possible.
Your ‘something must be very wrong’ is actually ‘I have no clue how systems are built, developed and maintained.’
I was on TalkTalk GFast and I couldn’t upgrade straight to FTTP I had to move to FTTC then upgrade to FTTP.
How strange, I thought this enterprise capitalism was supposed to be the model of flexibility . . . instead it seems to exhibit the complete opposite in this case . .moribund rigidity.
And that interesting modern variation in the concept of “Service” . . . where the suppliers first resort seems to be “If you don’t like our banana offering, go elsewhere”. Oh for the old days when suppliers, desperate for custom, would bend-over-backwards to retain customers. Seems to be a revival of the Henry Ford dictum ” You can have any model you want, as long as its a model-T and black”
Too many marketing and lawyers fingers in the pie, trying to raddle the nuts out of the last ounce of your social credits (Cash).
As long as 95% of customers are happy they won’t give a sh** about the 5% of dissenters. All companies when they get large enough essentially become Communists when they don’t consider that their position can be seriously threatened. Even the might of BT have failed to seriously break their stranglehold on the pay TV market.
Just as disappointing as the implementation of Digital Voice –
DV is coming said the banner head-line on my BT account late last year.
This site listed the local pop-up events to be held by BT in December last presaging this great new technology.
So far . . .end of March 2024, . . . nothing.
Their going to have to introduce a new event to rival the Oscars and BAFTAS . . .specifically designed for marketing men . . the BMBoY . .
the Bull-shitting Marketing Barsteward of the year
Did you even read the article? What on earth has your comment got to do with it?
It doesn’t surprise me with Sky. After all, they still don’t let you use your own router.
They do allow third party routers, it’s just not supported or widely publicised. (it might also not work with their TV stuff, but that’s a different issue)
I’m with Sky for FTTP, along with TV. The Sky router literally never left the box, I setup up my own router to do it while the engineer was onsite.
Everything works, including IPv6.
Live in Norfolk on a gravel, unadopted road. Have fttp using the old telephone poles. Our friends who live in a rural lane also have it. Old technology put to good use. There is a local isp offering a great deal over my Sky 900mbps. EE is offering 1.6gbps but very expensive. Had it for 2.5 years, work from home and never had a problem.
You’ve got to feel sorry for complainant 3 who is having to live with two dependants who are potential murderers. Can’t they get an upgrade based on risk to life?
Or maybe lessons in parenting, so that the young people don’t grow up de-life-skilled and desocialised? Constantly gaming, what about school / college studies, going for a walk, the gym, swimming pool, DIY in the house or garden, cooking and baking, learning to programm (high bandwidth not needed), reading (a book or online novel), kicking a football, playing a musical instrument, generally getting a life?
This is a HUGE failure by Sky!!!!!
My dad had talktalk G.Fast and the price was shooting up and basically no other options, did order fttc with someone else but orders kept failing, was a lot of faff but managed to get tt to switch back from g.fast to fttc but had to re-contract but they agree to match a rivals deal as we physically couldn’t seem to leave. The area has since got fttp so hopefully on the next re-contract later this year it should be much simpler than if he was still suck on g.fast.
Currently on g.fast and OR say between now and Dec 2026 for FFTP and when last contacted them they reckon mid-late 2025 at the earliest. Streets around us have already been upgraded to FFTP as these weren’t on g.fast connections.
Can’t understand why they just didn’t upgrade everyone in area at same time