In reply to a post by ScubaGirl:

Personally speaking I do use my own router and make use of the benefits that this provides (300mb/s WiFi on both 2.4 & 5 GHz channels, 1Gbit LAN, USB ports for sharing drives, better GUI & tools).

Not one of these is a routing function though, lol. So, you do not have to replace the Sky router or break the Sky T&C to benefit from them.

If we are getting into the theory of genuinely valid reasons for a typical home user to object to the Sky router - these would mainly be modem performance, and any WAN-LAN functions and performance (firewall, QoS, port forwarding, VPN).

Fair point.

A lot of people to criticise the poor facilities on the Sky router firmware for parental controls. This could most certainly be improved by using your own router.

More people are wanting features such as VPN properly supported, Xbox & PS3 always seem to be an issue for port forwarding & being able to host games for some people.

Additional features are always desirable though.

Sky's stance on not supporting work based traffic is starting to get to a point where it should be revisited and amended. More people are working from home and if they are going to sell Fibre packages, then this will be even more important. It is important to realise that Sky BB is a domestic product, but as I just said, more people are working from home, even if it is just in the evenings.

As I mentioned earlier, there are currently two fixed prices, depending on which router you go for.

WiFi g (or n-Lite) - £28 - Includes:
Netgear DG834GT (no longer shipped, but mention as the rest would be a replacement for this)
Netgear DG934G
D-Link DSL-2640S
Sagem F@ST 2504
Sagem F@ST 2304n (all still under warranty unless was a replacement for any of above)

WiFi N - £35
Sagem Path F@ST 2504N (new router - all under warranty)

All these prices include VAT & carriage.

If you wish to get a Sagem 2504N (whether or not your current router is faulty) to replace one of the other models, then you will need to pay the £35.

It is also worth pointing out that some of the people who work in the call centres will replace your FOC even when it is out of warranty. This is discretionary though.

Openreach modem remains their property, but if you damage it then you might get billed, e.g. the dog eats it

But as Sky is not BT then the regulator is not too concerned, UK regulation is about reducing the influence of BT i.e. more retail competition is seen as good.

The small details of what each firm gets up to is rarely looked at.

Sky is applying something that it has been allowed to do with the TV settop boxes for years.

Phone up one day, courier dispatch, should be with most people in the UK next or second day.

Given BT undertakes to only do phone faults (which is considered a lifeline service) in 4 days for residential customers, then delivery time for a replacement is probably better than most people see from a phone fault.

If having no broadband for a day is going to cause lose of money, then time to look at other providers who offer the appropriate care levels.

Broadband is a utility yes, but if my power at home goes off and it is only my house, the electricity company don't move fast to restore power. Now due to rules they move faster for some categories of customers during cold weather.

If Sky is seen to be milking modem replacements for profit then it is a lot more of an issue, but so long as price remains reasonable, it is just a market practice that not everyone is comfortable with. The joy/pain of the free market.

I think in many cases Sky's policy is doing them no favours. I've read of people who were annoyed at being charged £28/£35 by Sky when they had perfectly good third party routers available to use. On occasions the cancellations department will waive the replacement router fee, but in some cases, amazingly, they seem happy to let customers leave over the issue.

When I joined I made sure there was a way to connect to Sky with a third party router, if there wasn't, I probably wouldn't have signed up. If they push forward with their non RFC compliant MER connection method and scrap PPPoA they will probably push a lot of users away.

When I signed up they migrated my line in two working days. Sounds impressive, except the router did not have time to arrive, and I was without broadband for 4 days waiting for a Sky router to arrive.

In reply to a post by Oliver341:

Interesting point. What happens when the Openreach VDSL2 modem fails outside of warranty?

As long as you're still paying a CP (ISP) for service that requires it, you'd report it to your CP (ISP) who would organise OR to send you a replacement. Pretty much the same for cable modems on Virgin Media.

Its required by the service that you're paying a subscription, and provided by the technical delivery team.

Surely if a broadband user is so dependent on a daily internet connection then they should use an appropriate ISP with SLA, etc.

Granted, I would be a bit miffed if I was without an internet connection for a few days but I could cope, just like most people could.

In reply to a post by broadband66:

Granted, I would be a bit miffed if I was without an internet connection for a few days but I could cope, just like most people could.

Of course one could cope, but Sky in this instance is inconveniencing the customer in a way that no other ISP does, and it's all rather pointless to do so.