Sky don't have a network of cabling that covers 13,700km! So sky don't have to keep that upgraded, only the satellites that they RENT! Also ntl: have aquired an ex-cwc network that is more advanced then their original network.
You say it should have been done years ago yes? Well years ago CWC DID NOT KNOW that ntl: were going to offer them an extortionate price for their network so they were not going to convert their network to be more like ntl's!
A network as big as ntl's requires thousands of engineers and millions of pounds worth of investment just to maintain, never mind the billions it would cost to upgrade it! You have to have a sense of money to realise that!
Yes it would be nice if both halfs of the network were identical, but they are not simple as, you can't change that, i can't change that and ntl: can't change it without money.
I think the fact that they are making progress towards thier etv services is the better thing! Last year we didnt have any etv really, broadband was at £50 for 1mb and we didnt have CR3. I think ntl: have made massive strides forward but this site only seems to highlight the bad parts of ntl: for some reason!