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Sky TV has quietly rolled out a major change to broadband customers, increasing the minimum contract term for all new customers from 18- to 24 months. That means you’ll need to remain with Sky TV for at least two years before you can renegotiate a new deal or switch to another broadband provider.
Like all major broadband providers in the UK, Sky TV will increase prices for in-contract customers each year. Under the changes, Sky broadband users will be subject to two annual increases before they’re able to renegotiate a new deal. Earlier this year, Sky broadband customers saw prices rise by 6.7% on average.
Although, it’s worth noting that Sky was the only major provider that offered customers the chance to walk away from their contract penalty-free if they were unhappy with the annual price hike announced back in April. Regulator Ofcom is currently assessing whether to ban above-inflation price rises for the industry.
Sky TV was a bit of an outlier with its 18-month broadband contracts.
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Rival suppliers like BT, EE, TalkTalk, Plusnet, Three, and Vodafone only offer broadband packages with a 24-month minimum contract term. Virgin Media remains the only nationwide broadband supplier with 18-month contracts as the default for new customers, while some smaller providers — like Hyperoptic and Community Fibre — offer people the choice when signing up.
If you lock in an affordable broadband deal, these longer contract terms can be a huge advantage, since it’ll extend the duration of the savings. Switching to a new broadband provider during the Black Friday sales or other major sales events can be a great way to ensure your monthly bills will remain low for years to come.
However, there’s undeniably less flexibility with a longer contract and those who move to a new address, want to bundle TV packages, downgrade to slower speeds, or move to another provider could find the extra six months more limiting.
The change to Sky Broadband contracts will only apply to new customers who sign up from today, or existing customers who decide to renegotiate a new contract with the brand.
Speaking to GB News about the decision to change its broadband plans, a spokesperson for Sky told us: “The standard length of Sky TV, Sky Broadband and NOW Powered by Sky contracts have changed to 24 months, extending the in-contract benefits we know our customers value.
“These changes apply to new or re-contracting customers — those who are currently in contract will remain on their existing term until it ends.”
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For a limited time, Sky has waived its one-off set-up fee across all broadband contracts. Prices start from £28 per month for full-fibre speeds of 145Mbps, rising to £44 per month for its fastest 900Mbps speeds — that’s 13x quicker than the average home broadband speed in the UK, as measured by Ofcom.
Sky Broadband customers will benefit from a minimum guaranteed speed, and can unlock 50% off mobile data plans for their phone when you switch from your current SIM provider to Sky too.