Anytime+ Broadband Requirements

[skybluesy]

Is it obligatory that you have to have a Sky Broadband connection to get Sky Anytime+ and, if so, can this be considered to be restrictive trade practice?
Sky have been clever to advertise no price increases for their TV subscriptions however the phone rental has gone up and I feel I want to price compare a Broadband / Line Rental / Calls package again. I'm paying £24.75 for all this now - hardly cheap is it? And the service if pretty naff.
Quite frankly I don't really need a landline anymore so is this an obligatory requirement as well?

[Scubbie]

You're more than welcome to get a 3G router. Where a good signal is present you can get good download speeds.

Someone whom I chat with uses one of these and it costs her under £20 per month. She can take it anywhere she likes.

There is the drawback of a low monthly limit compared to Sky's Unlimited service, but then someone needs to maintain the network of cables that supply your Internet.

[Isitme]

Is it obligatory that you have to have a Sky Broadband connection to get Sky Anytime+ and, if so, can this be considered to be restrictive trade practice?

Yes, you must have Lite or Unlimited, Connect does not qualify. Why would it be restrictive to trade practice? It is a perk Sky give to its broadband users in the same way that BT give free WiFi access its users. Should I complain that they are using restrictive practice because I can't get free access because I have Sky broadband?

You need a land line to get ADSL broadband, I don't think any provider will supply a line for broadband only, although with the wide use of mobile phones it may happen in the future.

[skybluesy]

If you can only use Sky Broadband to receive Anytime+ isn't that restrictive? If Broadband deals elsewhere are better (cost and service) should we be able to make a choice as to which BB service we receive? My BB service from Sky is very slow so everything in the house now lags - laptops, phones, Sky etc. If I was able to get a faster service I'd be happier but it wouldn't work with Sky Anytime+.

[Scubbie]

Sure it is 'restrictive' in respect that you are only currently able to receive Anytime+ when using their LLU equipment to access you Internet.

However if I wanted to receive BT Vision, i would have to cancel my Sky Telephone & Sky Broadband. I would then have to take out a telephone & broadband package with either BT, Post Office or another BT Wholesale reseller that BT has approved.

Personally I would like to see Sky open up Anytime+ so that non-Sky broadband customers can view the content. In their recent announcement regarding the introduction of more Box Office content for movies, they cited 'Security & Reliability' as reasons for excluding other ISPs.

As far as reliability is concerned, surely O2, BT, TalkTalk, Virgin, etc., can all offer a good reliable service? If they couldn't then people would be moving in droves to Sky. As for security, then it would appear that they are more concerned with people hacking the content and watching it when they shouldn't be able to. Typically this would be outside the UK.

Before anyone suggests that there might be issues with bandwidth, BBC iPlayer, the most popular video streaming service in the UK, has now gone global with people outside the UK being expected to subscribe.

ITV Player, 4 on Demand and Demand 5 are also available to people on various ISPs.

Sky wants to restrict it's on-line content to people in the UK only at present. Subscribers in Eire cannot receive Anytime+ because Sky doesn't have a broadband service in Eire. These people pay the same price for the TV service as you or I, albeit in Euros not Pounds.

So yes, sky is restricting the Anytime+ content at the present moment.

[Isitme]

If you can only use Sky Broadband to receive Anytime+ isn't that restrictive?

It is restricted, but that does not make it a restrictive trade practice, which would be illegal.

If Broadband deals elsewhere are better (cost and service)

Exactly, Anytime+ is part of Sky's broadband service, so you should take that into account when choosing a broadband supplier.

My BB service from Sky is very slow so everything in the house now lags

If you are a long way from the exchange it will be just as slow, or even slower, with another ISP. Why not post in the Help section and see if your connection can be improved. Include your router stats.

How to get your router statistics