Do I need to have a BT account?

I've searched high and low for this, but can't find a definitive answer.

I know that we need a "BT compatible" line in order to have Sky Broadband. And if my local exchange is unbundled, which it is, then I can get the higher speeds. But do I need to be a BT customer, with a paid-for account and telephone number? I'm moving into a flat which has BT phone sockets, but I've never had a BT account and don't want to start now.

So, can I just sign up to Sky, have Sky Talk (and a number?) and bypass BT altogether?

Thanks very much,

Will

Don't think Sky do new connections.
So your best bet would be to get your line installed by BT (or one of the other companies with a new install product), and get your broadband from Sky (and maybe your voice calls package - as you can get Sky Talk and still pay BT/Madasafish/The Post Office/etc. for your line rental).
When your 12 month contract is up, switch your line rental to Sky.

I thought you can get your line rental via sky as well ?

You can, but I'm pretty sure they don't offer new installations (same as Talk-Talk, where you can also go for full unbundling , but they still don't offer new lines - they will only take over BT ones).

Thanks for the replies. It's pretty ridiculous but just what I expected. �125 to pay BT, plus �10.50 ish per month line rental, and Sky on top of that. I gather some have managed to get Sky to help pay the �125 ... but it seems pretty unlikely. �125 is a hell of a lot to pay just to activate a line: it's all plumbed in from the street and has phone sockets etc! Madness.

In reply to:

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�125 is a hell of a lot to pay just to activate a line

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A standardised fee, unfortunately (after all, someone needed to pay for the lines to be installed).
On the counter-side of the argument, you'd be pretty pleased if you got a line installed for �125, when it cost BT �3,000 to install it!

As for the �10 (ish) line rental, you'll have to pay it to someone. They all charge about this amount (give, or take a quid). The Sky talk for �5 doesn't include the line rental, nor does their broadband.
The only thing you'll have to pay, which you may not have been expecting, is the �125.

The part of the �125 install fee I don't agree with is on old houses.
There's no way in Hell it costs BT �125 to re-activate a phone line which has only been dead for a few hours.
It's a bit like bank charges. It looks like steps are being made to ensure bank charges are relative to the actual costs, so why aren't phone reconnection fees (otherwise, by the time a house is 30 years old, BT could easily have collected �1,000 to install the socket once).

One-off connection charge
Connecting a new BT line costs �122.33 (incl. VAT). This charge only applies in some cases, but before we can confirm this we need to check your property.
The charge will automatically appear in your online order basket, however, once you've placed your order and we've checked your property we'll let you know if it still applies.
If your home has had telephone service from BT in the recent past, and the wiring and socket is undamaged and the line still has dialling tone, it's likely you won't need to pay this charge. But where there's no suitable BT line available in your property the connection charge may apply
Most of our new customers find they don't need to pay this charge
This fee covers engineering work in your exchange or your property in order to connect the line and is subject to survey.
If the charge does apply it will be added to your first BT bill.

The �125 only needs to be paid for lines that have been inactive for a long time (years typically). We moved into our current house in May, and it cost us 0 for installation as it was just a case of activating it at the exchange.
In our previous house that we used NTL for phone, it would cost us �125 to get the BT line re-enabled as it had been unused for at least 5 years - probably more.

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/i/3449.html
But cannot find it on their website

All providers that do WLR (Sky Talk line rental basically) have the option to order a new line from Openreach if they set their systems up to support it.

We've had a second line off and on for a few years. It used to cost about �30 to have it reactivated. Last June we wanted it reactivated, all the cables were there, problem was that after the 8 months of inactivity the wires had been disconnected at the exchange.

BT explained that �125 (approx) was required to reconnect the wires. After some moaning from myself it was explained that it was swings and roundabouts. Some lines are cheap to activate while some are expensive and the cost is shared equally.

So, I went with Virgin. At �10 installation and �16/mth for phone and BBand it was far cheaper than the �125 just in order that BT could overcharge for reconnecting some wires.