NOW Broadband (from NOW TV / Sky)

I need a 12 month broadband contract and am looking at NOW Broadband.

My understanding is this is basically Sky Broadband but with a different name - so it's different to BT Group's offerings of BT Broadband, Plusnet and EE which despite their common ownership all make use different network infrastructure (beyond the 'first mile' of course).

Does anyone know if NOW Broadband is in any way throttled or crippled compared to a regular Sky Broadband connection?

(P.S. Not particularly interested in the NOW TV aspect of the service.)

Not throttled or crippled compared to the usual Sky broadband.

Main difference will be the model of wireless router supplied (cannot recall what NOW TV send out)

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Not throttled or crippled compared to the usual Sky broadband.

Main difference will be the model of wireless router supplied (cannot recall what NOW TV send out)

Thanks. They say they send out something called the "NOW Broadband Hub Two", and a quick search suggests it is a rebadged Sky Q hub.

https://help.nowtv.com/article/choose-your-hub

Edited by binary (Thu 02-Jan-20 14:27:51)

In reply to a post by binary:

Thanks. They say they send out something called the "NOW Broadband Hub Two", and a quick search suggests it is a rebadged Sky Q hub.

https://help.nowtv.com/article/choose-your-hub

That looks (from the picture) like the previous router Sky was shipping, they launched a newer router in September last year.

ISP Sky Broadband Officially Launch New Router

In reply to a post by dect:

In reply to a post by binary:

Thanks. They say they send out something called the "NOW Broadband Hub Two", and a quick search suggests it is a rebadged Sky Q hub.

https://help.nowtv.com/article/choose-your-hub

That looks (from the picture) like the previous router Sky was shipping, they launched a newer router in September last year.

ISP Sky Broadband Officially Launch New Router

Thanks, yes it looks like the older model. Regardless I'm sure it will do the job well enough.

I am vaguely wondering if I might scrimp on getting FTTC, and just get cheaper ADSL - the distance to the exchange is around half a mile, though of course the distance by wire might be somewhat longer. I suspect might live to regret it though!

In reply to a post by binary:

I am vaguely wondering if I might scrimp on getting FTTC, and just get cheaper ADSL - the distance to the exchange is around half a mile, though of course the distance by wire might be somewhat longer. I suspect might live to regret it though!

Did the speed estimates from the DSL checker meet your requirements? only you will know what sort of speed you're looking for.

Edited by deleted (Thu 02-Jan-20 15:42:18)

I am vaguely wondering if I might scrimp on getting FTTC, and just get cheaper ADSL - the distance to the exchange is around half a mile, though of course the distance by wire might be somewhat longer. I suspect might live to regret it though!

I think you�ll live to regret it if you do ... ADSL is a poor relative these days. Many �usual� applications require more upload than ADSL provides, and once swamped, all manner of weirdness ensues.

Think to, that the glacial change from exchange based services is edging ahead. Get, while the going�s good I say.

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

I am vaguely wondering if I might scrimp on getting FTTC, and just get cheaper ADSL - the distance to the exchange is around half a mile, though of course the distance by wire might be somewhat longer. I suspect might live to regret it though!

I think you'll live to regret it if you do ... ADSL is a poor relative these days. Many 'usual' applications require more upload than ADSL provides, and once swamped, all manner of weirdness ensues.

Reporting back some 6 months after the service went live... and I'm glad to say I wasn't a skinflint meaning I went for the FTTC option rather than old school ADSL.

Little did I or anyone else know at the time I posted my original question at the beginning of January that the 'joys' of Covid and lockdown were coming - and the faster and reliable upload element of FTTC has indeed proved to be very useful.

Just reporting back to say that I've been quite satisfied with the NOW Broadband service, no complaints.

On ordering, I was given a provisional 'go live' date by email in that ended up being pushed back by seven days, but my recollection is the 'order tracker' on the NOW TV website tracked this correctly.

I never get the promised code for 3 months of NOW TV Entertainment, which was a promotional offer when I ordered the broadband service. A quick Google suggested I wasn't the only one who'd missed out on ths - thankfully the live chat service sorted me out with a code for 4 months when I chased this up (I only got round to doing this some months later, and imagined it might be a hassle to get sorted - thankfully it was pretty easy).

Oh, and my Quidco £90 cashback has seemingly failed to pay up, which ain't great - but I'm about to chase that up with Quidco.

So I guess those are complaints! The broadband service itself however seems pretty solid.


Interesting to note that the emails regarding the broadband and phone line didn't come from the nowtv.com domain but rather came from "NOW TV" with the email address [email protected] - so the NOW Broadband service really does seem to be a very thinly disguised Sky Broadband service!


One other observation - I've stumbled across a fair few Wifi SSIDs with NOWTV in their name, which suggests NOW Broadband is quite popular. I imagine one very good reason why is that it's one of the few providers to offer 12 month contracts, or indeed with 'no contract' (i.e. just a month's commitment) with payment of a £60 setup fee.

Also of note is that there's no option to pay by direct debit - it's only by continuous payment authority with a Visa or Mastercard payment card (and Amex is not an option).

Good to hear!

We first switched to Sky BB in July 2007 (on ADSL) and was one of the early upgraders to their FTTC service in April 2012.

Being aware that NOW BB is effectively a re-badged version of Sky BB (but cheaper), switched to that in June 2018.

Still with them now, including having done done 2 house moves during that 2 year period (both painless) and remain happy with the product. So much so that, just before lockdown, we renewed for another 12 months at £22.99 on Fab Fibre.

As for the future, we can get FTTC G.Fast here via Sky BB. Interested to see if that becomes available via NOW BB next year.