Claire Nottage | August 24th, 2022

Sky broadband checker: Can I get it in my area?

Sky might have started out purely as a TV provider but is now widely recognised as a broadband provider in its own right too, offering a range of broadband speeds to suit every household.

Sky broadband coverage checker

To find out if you can get Sky Broadband where you are, click on the button below and we'll tell you immediately if it's available and how to get the best deals.

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Checking your area will take you to our Sky Broadband comparison page, where you will be able to enter your postcode to see exactly which packages are available to you where you live.

Almost everyone can get Sky, but with newer broadband technology being slowly rolled out (FTTP, or ‘full fibre’ as it’s sometimes known), not everyone will be able to get the very fastest speeds. Our postcode checker will make it clear exactly what you can get.

Coverage and availability

Sky runs on the Openreach network of cables used by the majority of other broadband providers. A fibre connection is now available at most properties, but if not, Sky is likely to offer you a basic, standard broadband connection.

If you are wanting an ultrafast or gigafast connection, you might find that you are unlucky and that this service is not yet available at your address. Ultrafast broadband is slowly rolling out across the country but there are still many areas that cannot yet get access.

Find out when Sky broadband is coming to your area

If you’re just after a fibre connection and it is not available in your area with Sky then it’s unlikely to be available with other providers that use the same network. If this is the case, then it’s worth seeing if another network, such as Virgin Media, or Community Fibre (if you live in London) offers its fibre service at your address.

For Sky Ultrafast and Gigafast services, you can register your interest on Sky’s website. Simply fill out your name, email address and postcode, and Sky will get in touch if it plans to install these services in your area.

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How does Sky broadband work?

Sky broadband operates over the Openreach network which is also used by the majority of other UK broadband providers, with the notable (although not sole) exception of Virgin Media. Initially, all broadband connections were carried by the same copper wires used for telephone services, but these were only able to offer speeds averaging 10Mbps.

The fibre network that followed enabled the majority of the UK to enjoy speeds averaging between 35Mbps and 65Mbps, but these speeds were limited due to the fact that the fibre cables only ran as far as the streetside cabinet; the final distance between the cabinet and your home was still covered by copper, which slows the connection speed.

Sky has recently started to offer Ultrafast and Gigafast services, along with other Openreach providers, including BT, EE, TalkTalk and Vodafone. These services are known as FTTP (fibre to the property) connections, whereby there is no copper cabling used at all. This results in extremely fast download speeds up to 900Mbps.

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Installing Sky broadband and TV

Depending on which broadband service or TV service you choose, it may be the case that you can self-install without the need for an engineer visit.

Sky Fibre

If you plump for a simple Sky Fibre connection, Sky will send you a router through the post and, as long as you have a pre-existing fibre connection, you will be able to install your Sky broadband without the need for an engineer to visit your property.

If you also choose to subscribe to Sky Glass rather than Sky Q, your new Sky Glass TV set will be delivered and unwrapped, but there will be no need for an engineer to do any work. You simply switch on Sky Glass and connect it to your router. If you choose Sky Q, however, an engineer will need to come and install a dish on your home, although that could soon be a thing of the past.

Sky Ultrafast

Sky Ultrafast is a fibre-to-the-home service, meaning that the copper cables that cover the final section from your street cabinet to your home are not used – instead a fibre cable goes straight into your home. Unless you have had a pure fibre connection before with a provider that uses the Openreach network (such as Sky, BT, Vodafone or TalkTalk), you will need an engineer to carry out this process in order to get your broadband service up and running.

As with Sky Fibre, if you also want Sky TV, you can choose to have Sky Glass which does not require installation, or Sky Q, which, for the time being, still does.

Sky Gigafast

Sky’s 900Mbps download service is also a FTTH (fibre-to-the-home) connection that uses full fibre cabling. This will also require an engineer to come to your property and install it. And again, if you are taking Sky TV too, you have the choice of Sky Glass without an engineer or Sky Q that does require an engineer.

Equipment charges

Sky does not charge any upfront costs for its superfast or ultrafast broadband packages when taken without TV. Its Essential Plus (standard) broadband package comes with a tenner upfront fee, and any Superfast or Ultrafast TV package taken with Sky TV comes with an upfront fee of or around £20.

Bundling Sky broadband with Sky TV

For many people, Sky is still the king of TV, and so it makes sense to take Sky TV with Sky broadband if you’re looking for a TV service. You can choose to take Sky TV with any broadband speed - from the 11Mbps broadband essential to the 900Mbps advertised by Sky Gigafast.

Once you have chosen your broadband speed (subject to what is available at your address), you can choose your Sky TV package. Sky now offers a choice of Sky Q or its newest addition – Sky Glass – essentially a TV that uses your internet connection to stream Sky TV rather than a satellite signal, meaning no need for a satellite dish on your roof or a TV box in your living room.

Sky TV comes with around 110 channels as standard, and you can choose to bolt on Movies, Sky Sport, Sky Kids and BT Sport if you want. Sky also offers its TV customers a free basic Netflix subscription, which you can choose to upgrade if you wish. Multiscreen is available as an add-on with both Sky Q and Sky Glass, and you can also choose to add Ultra HD and HD to enhance your viewing experience still further.

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