Support Staff Hint Sky Broadband UK to Replace WiFi Max Kit Next Month
Several customers of UK ISP Sky Broadband have now informed ISPreview that the provider’s support staff have recently notified them about the launch, next month, of new WiFi Max hardware. This appears to reflect both the Sky Max Hub router and the Sky Max Pod WiFi extenders.
The information could be seen as an update or complement to our prior news (here), which indicated that the first large-scale customer trials of Sky Broadband’s new CityFibre powered FTTP packages are predicted to begin next month (May 2025) – possibly alongside a soft launch of related packages.
We have previously suggested that the new CityFibre plans were almost certain to require a new router (the current Max Hub would struggle to deliver CF’s top speeds). But Sky’s support staff have also been indicating to those on Openreach based FTTP lines that the new kit will be made available to them too (it’s unclear if this will extend to FTTC / G.fast users).
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Officially, Sky cannot yet confirm a date for any of this, but they have promised to share more information soon. The current suite of Hubs will also remain available for customers, so it may only be certain packages or add-ons that can benefit from the new kit at launch. Speaking of which, we do not yet know for certain if Sky will be launching faster plans than 1Gbps at launch, but both Openreach and CF are able to offer such tiers at wholesale (up to 1.8Gbps download on Openreach and 2.5Gbps on CF – the latter being symmetric).
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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The amount of electrical waste these larger providers have is horrendous, they change routers for no reason at all. I understand them changing routers if the consumer have a service the old one can’t cope with or if there is a fault, but there is no need to change routers most of the time.
Then they come out with, we are doing this and that for the environment, total and complete bull.
Need to come out with routers cased in wood, instead of plastic, now that would be nice.
The environmental impact of e-waste isn’t from the casing being made from polycarbonate instead of wood. The added costs of using wood could easily double the cost of each unit, make very little difference to the ability to recycle it, and increase fuel consumption during shipping.
It seems like your interpretation of this article is that Sky are going to be swapping existing routers out, that’s not the impression I got.
“they change routers for no reason at all.”
Per the article:
“We have previously suggested that the new CityFibre plans were almost certain to require a new router (the current Max Hub would struggle to deliver CF’s top speeds).”
Yes I know you think anything faster than dial up is too fancy for most people and that 640K of RAM is just enough so you’ll probably still consider this a waste.
“Need to come out with routers cased in wood, instead of plastic, now that would be nice.”
Ironically I recently saw a video which blamed wooden housed electronics on some house fires from back in the day.
I don’t follow your thinking – Providers don’t change for no reason! I’d expect the new hardware is for new lines only or an optional paid upgrade.
Most providers own the kit anyways so old stuff is returned for the reason of cutting out waste and is recycled and or renewed into the same or new kit
‘The amount of electrical waste these larger providers have is horrendous, they change routers for no reason at all. I understand them changing routers if the consumer have a service the old one can’t cope with or if there is a fault, but there is no need to change routers most of the time.’
You know how you were talking about profit-grabbing companies? How does changing customer premises equipment for the fun of it fit into making profit? It’s nearly always for technical reasons and where it isn’t it’s customer satisfaction.
People should read what I put, I said “I understand them changing routers if the consumer have a service the old one can’t cope with or if there is a fault”
Yeah, I admit, maybe the wood idea was not such a good idea,
You be surprised how many people think they should have a new router just because there is one and providers to keep their custom supplies them with a new router.
I can see where new routers are required when new technology arrives, sometimes, like going from a very slow and old Wi-Fi to a more modern one, I don’t mean changing from say Wi-Fi 5 to 7, as most people would not notice any difference.
A lot of routers are not returned, I have three routers from Plusnet and they did not ask for them back, even when I cancelled. That is over nine years and one of them was replaced because it was not working correctly.
I think ISPs should give people a choice, when they become a customer, buy your own router or have one supplied by the ISP. I realise that some ISPs prefer you to use theirs, because their customer service knows nothing and just read from a script.
A shame really.
The mobile phone market is worse with waste.
Somebody never read the article. It clearly says it is to support the higher speeds that Cityfibre provide. As for mixing electronics with wood? A ten year old kid could tell you thats a fire hazard.
“A lot of routers are not returned, I have three routers from Plusnet and they did not ask for them back, even when I cancelled. That is over nine years and one of them was replaced because it was not working correctly.”
The BT Group moved to the rental model in the late 2010s, though before that change they included a recycling bag with their devices in line with WEEE.
I believe all of the major ISPs “rent” now, so there’s plenty of kit going back that can and is being refurbished and reissued.
“I think ISPs should give people a choice, when they become a customer, buy your own router or have one supplied by the ISP. I realise that some ISPs prefer you to use theirs, because their customer service knows nothing and just read from a script.”
The key is that it eliminates the customer from the loop, though they can still mess with the connection to the phone socket/ONT. It gives them a device that they can interrogate and prove functionality, and yes, their scripts and test tools are very justifiably designed around it. That’s why virtually every ISP does it.
The costs of these devices are insignificant compared to the cost of an otherwise unnecessary technician visit, and if it means they can fix a fault over the phone (such as pointing out that a device is too far away) then its quicker too.
@Adf478uk
Except it sounded like you hadn’t read the article because it litterally gave a potential reason you’re ok with.
While I think of it, there may also be other reasons for routers to be upgraded such as EoL from the vendor, something that Virgin are dealing with, although I wouldn’t be surprised if marketing is the primary factor.
I was with BT a few years ago and I did have the send the router back, same goes with Sky whom I just left, the latter I know also theatens to charge if equipment isn’t returned.
As for the user choice, I’m mixed on this one because sometimes it is handy to have even just a ‘basic’ router for diagnostics/backup, although my current ISP doesn’t supply one at all.
‘I realise that some ISPs prefer you to use theirs, because their customer service knows nothing and just read from a script.’
Using their router means they can do diagnostics on it to find faults including past performance information, speed tests and real time diagnostics. However well trained or not the staff are this is a huge help to troubleshooting.
You clearly didn’t read the article properly, yearned for kit to be cased in Wood despite huge drawbacks presumably as that’s how it was when we were younger and then this comment. Not your finest set of posts.
@K, again, I will say, you have not read, wheat I posted. I did say if it is for new features, like higher speeds, that is if the consumer is wanting the higher speed, then yes, fine replace the thing. Granted it is better now than it used to be, but not that long ago, ISPs seemed to be forever replacing routers. My next door neighbour seemed to be having a new router every year when they were with BT, but granted since they have been with Sky, they have only had the one.
The longest I know anyone to keep a router is my brother, who is with or was with Shell.
Routers cost ISPs very little, well the larger providers anyway as they get them in bulk, it is the smaller providers that pay more for them.
As for wood with electronics, I don’t know how old you are, but wood and electronics have been mixed for years, Tvs, radios, my old Midi system have wood sides, I have an old radiogram downstairs, wood. Some of the old stuff used to get a lot hotter than the modern stuff with valves and they did not burst into flames unless there was a fault and that can happen with modern stuff, I have seen some modern stuff where they have got so hot the plastic have melted.
Anyway, I said maybe not a good idea, due to costs.
@Ivor,
If Bt moved to a rental model, then why did my next door neighbour have or had 5 different routers stuck in a box? That includes the one with the phone, I still have one of them here somewhere.
the problem with a lot of ISPs issued routers, certainly BT is that they are full of junk that is not needed, BT have their smart Wireless thing, which I disabled in so many BT routers as it is a pain in the neck and is not needed. Even my sister-in-law disabled it in their router.
The one zzoomm issued is not that good, i used it for a day and then put my TP-link one back in line. Now if Zzoomm gave me a choice, I would not have had the router, and they could give it someone else.
It annoys me that we are told about our waste as consumers and yet companies waste a lot more and nothing is said or done, as I said above, look at the mobile phone market. I have had my phone for 4 years and keep it for as long as it keep going, I expect. But some people seem to have a new phone as often as they change their socks, Okay, that is a bit of a exaggeration , but you know what I mean. Companies are now renewing phones after 12 months. WHY? They say the old phones are reused, sold as used and that sort of thing, but that is not the point.
People don’t need a new phone every flipping year, just so they can use Whatsapp, take a few photos and listen to music, which is what most of the people with the phones these days.
Fed up with the waste and then getting told to do this and do that to save the earth.
@Polish Poler, again, someone who did not read my reply. I did say that wood may be a bad idea, but it would be nice.
As for fault-finding that is a poor excuse, I was with a provider years ago, on the unreliable ADSL service, and they did not need their own router. I used a Netgear router at the time and they managed.
It is because these large companies like BT, Sky, Talk talk have people at customer service that know nothing about what they are trying to sort out and goes by a script
This the problem these days and have been for years
Just annoyed with the waste companies have, and we are told to do this and to do that to save the earth.
@tech3475, I realise that we have to move forward in technology and as much as I used to love my Amiga and the fun of BBS and even the early days of the internet, I realise we need something better and faster for today’s world.,
But, people seem to think they need the fastest and newest thing, when they don’t and companies don’t help, you only have to look at the mobile phone market where companies are replacing phones after 12 months.
All it is about is how to squeeze a bit more money from the naive consumer, and that is what business think of us, apart from maybe the odd small business.
Ionos thought I was naive when they phoned me a couple of weeks ago and tried to sell me something I did not want, he was ready to put it in the system, when I said, I did not say I was going to have the service. He was pretty annoyed. I am fine with what I have.
“the problem with a lot of ISPs issued routers, certainly BT is that they are full of junk that is not needed, BT have their smart Wireless thing, which I disabled in so many BT routers as it is a pain in the neck and is not needed. Even my sister-in-law disabled it in their router.”
As I understand it, that feature is just a fancy name for automated channel changing, largely in response to environmental conditions. Why would you want to turn that off unless you have a clear problem (ie a badly behaved client device that can’t seem to cope with changes?). Did your sister in law independently find that option or did you tell her to turn it off / turn it off for her?
This attitude is precisely why ISPs send out equipment and are reluctant to offer support to those who don’t use it. It’s bad enough when people insist on fiddling within the settings that they do make available, let alone having to attempt to troubleshoot an issue with someone who thinks their DIY boat anchor does everything better.