Is Sky Connect any good?

Is Sky Connect any good versus Virgin Media ADSL, my present ISP? (Pause for helpless laughing and much ridicule). I am not a big downloader, P2P user or gamer at present.

My local exchange has no LLU at all. My concern is most providers using BTW Max, incuding BT, will also be ropey. Virgin ADSL is just dire, but it is cheaper than Sky and many well respected BTW providers. Maybe someone could tell me, please, what peak time d/l speeds and pings are experienced with Connect.

In addition Sky told me Connect is �17 for 5 months, then it falls to �5, sooner if the exchange "has capacity." Can any one confirm this deal? It is not clear from web site. Does it mean LLU is scheduled some time hence. Sky actually said "has capacity" not when it gets LLU. So I wonder if they know what the situation is in rural Perthshire.

Have been fed a similar story on early conversion from Talk-Talk, but it has not happened.

Seems Sky LLU service is good and if local is exchange is converted Sky would be a good move for me. But moving for similar performance and more cost is not too smart.

Finally do Sky waive the �30 fee when you migrate does any one know?

Thanks in advance for any help given. Cheers.

Edited by davej99 (Wed 16-Jan-08 20:50:11)

Don't get SKy Connect.

If your exchange is not enabled for any LLU providers I would advise one of the Enta resellers (preferably ADSL24) or if the price seems a little steep then Fast4. These are the best providers and most highly rated providers available on the BT Wholsale network.

Have a lookie in the ADSL24 and Fast4 forums and you'll see what I mean

As regard to the service getting cheaper when your exchgange is LLUd (what Sky refer to as capacity - incorrect use of the term capacity may I add) -

As and when your exchange is unbundled for Sky / Easynet (if it ever is, some exchanges are totally unviable for LLU operators if very few subs or a physically smaller building), you can migrate over - ADSL24 and Fast4 have no minumum contract.

Thanks for the fast response & advice.

Notice you use UKOnline LLU (Easynet/Sky) rather than Sky LLU (Easynet/Sky)? I presume you are happy with the service and you are not a Sky customer? Or may be UKOnline LLU is a better product? Do you think UKOnline is any good for BTw provision?

As an aside 53dB down seems high at 2.1. I am 35dB at 2.4 road 2.2 crow and sync at 7638 15dB margin. The 992 up is new to me. How does that work?

Thx, appreciate the help.

Edited by davej99 (Wed 16-Jan-08 23:50:20)

I've had Connect since March, they were meant to LLU my exchange months ago, but it's got held back.

Connect has been better than any ISP i've previously had (BT, UKFSN, Nildram, Plusnet). Speeds are always full, pings low, and i download well over the 40GB a month limit with no consequences.

I only pay �5 which is a bonus too

Sky LLU is what im going to when i move

Our exchange was activated End of last summer so hopefully all the bugs will be worked out.

A friend of mine signed up to Sky LLU a few weeks after his exchange was activated with Sky and he had problems at the exchange for weeks.

I am a sky customer but had to opt for UKOnline because the Sky availability checker didn't recognise that my local exchange was enabled for Easynet.

I am waiting for Sky to fix their problems with their availability checker and as soon as their sales team admit that I can get Sky LLU I will migrate over.

Can't fault UKOnline, the service itselfs has been astounding.

52dB is high for 2.1K from exchange, your absolutely right, but that has nothing to do with the broadband provider (ofcourse) , it's just that the phone lines take a really silly route in my area, and the phone pole opposite my house had repair work done some time ago when some numpty went through the trunking with his hedge trimmer... never helps!

I'm sure I could get a better speed if I paid BT Openreach for another Survey & Re-route, but they would charge about �80 / Hour to do that since the line isn't technically "Broken". I'm just happy that Openreach worked on my line when I first got it activated (the line originally took a route 7.4Km long!)

992K upstream - yes, UKOnline offer a upto 1 meg up on their top tiered package, which is nice, sky only offer 768K up on Max, but to be honest, 768K is plenty unless you share very large files on a regular basis.

Thanks BuckleZ

Note your favourables on Connect. Did you pay �5 from the start or did you pay �17 for a while first?

Thanks, izools,for the advice.

Pretty good connection then for your line routing. I am amazed you do so well at over 50dB. Must be a smart router.

It really is time the regulator hit BT Openreach with a basic 21st Century line service requirement. They charge 21st century prices and hide behind a 19th century spec.

What is the point of the 21CN exchange upgrade if the consumer is connected via a cocoa tin and string, or worse, overhead wire acting like a radio aerial.

Just discovered Sky ADSL username and pw is derived in the router from the MAC address and it is hidden so it is impossible to see. Also cannot use BT speed checker. Understand you can unofficially extract username and pw, but that does not seem easy.

May be it is a scam to stop users using the albeit clanky BT speed tester or force us to use their router so they can rip 30 notes to join.

Also found that out of the warranty period, in the event of a router failure, Sky will not sell a new router. So you cannot source your own router and officially enter your own username and pw.

The irony is that wireless security seems to be compromised by this MAC derivation process.

Why do Sky make life so difficult. If I can work a cash machine surely these people trust me to use a router. Entering a username and pw prompts you to configure wireless properly, rather than the plug and play mentality Sky seem to assume.

They used to play equally stupid games matching viewing cards and sat boxes making it inconvenient to swap boxes.

I think Sky have just pigged me of joining. At the ended of the day I do not like to be treated like the idiot I am.

Dear davej99,
I've been with Sky Connect for well over a year now here on the Hampshire/Sussex border - waiting for my local exchange to be unbundled. All of the big exchanges around mine have been LLU'd by Sky but I'm still living in expectation. In answer to your specific points, which so far haven't produced an appropriate response, it looks to me as if Sky intend to unbundle your exchange five months from now and hence create "capacity" for Base, Mid or Max. Sky migrates you free of charge from "Connect" to "Mid"and you then have a month to decide whether to trade down to "Base" or up to "Max". I started off paying �5 + �12 = �17 per month to Sky for Connect and still do so, because my exchange remains unbundled by them (as opposed to Carphone Warehouse, Be there and AOL).
Again in answer to your specific enquiry regarding download speeds, it once went as high as 5.5 Mbps for my line that synchs at 6 Mbps, but is now a rock-solid 4.2 Mbps off-peak, droping as low as 2 Mbps after 16.00 hours - when, I guess, things get busy. Sky has never reprimanded me for excessive downloading of data either, although I must have exceeded the monthly limit on one occasion.
They're doing a special offer now which gives free Sky Sports and Sky Movies for a month, so I've been watching sports clips on my laptop downloaded from Sky's internet site, which I couldn't previously do as a Family Pack subscriber.
Sky Connect has dropped out for short periods of about 30 - 45 minutes on three occasions in fifteen months, which is pretty good going.
Hope this answers your questions about Sky Connect.
Best regards,
Simon Kemp