Sky Broadband

LooieENG · 10-11-2007, 18:37

Is Sky broadband any good? I did a test, and it says my line speed is 6mbps (950 feet away). But, will I get anywhere near that speed? What's the upload speed for the "up to 8mb" plan? And do they throttle P2P traffic?

Thanks

**Matt D** · 10-11-2007, 19:04

I've had it since February.

Personally, I think it's very good.

Have a read of this:

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/63...-and-info.html

Upload on the up to 8mbps service ("Mid") is around 400kbps, I think.

There is no throttling/shaping

southwell · 10-11-2007, 19:24

Im 1.5km away from the exchange and get 12mb constant, connects at 14mb.
Brilliant for £10 a month and a 76k upload!
Best of all, no traffic shaping!

greencreeper · 10-11-2007, 21:03

I've just opted for the 2MB basic service, but still have NTL/Virgin. My thread is here:

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/63...witch-not.html

So far, it all looks good. High ping times but as the link that Matt D provides explains, this is normal. Internet browsing is fine - better than NTL. Downloading seems fine also, though with NTL I get about 3.5Mbps whereas with Sky I get 1.7Mbps

[edit]Oh and a filtered face plate is a must, as is ensuring your internal telephone wiring is good quality. The extension I'm currently using is 6 core cabling with IDC connections, properly done. No dodgy screw connections. I intend getting a face plate - doddle to install.

LooieENG · 12-11-2007, 15:28

Also, do Sky give you a router??

Paul · 12-11-2007, 17:43

Yes, re-badged wireless netgear router is sent out prior to your activation date.

LooieENG · 12-11-2007, 17:51

Thanks

Paul · 12-11-2007, 18:03

One thing you may need to look at if you move to SkyBB at the moment is the instructions for your email, they have recently moved onto the Gmail system for Sky email and it's having issues. Unless they have re-packed all routers witihin the last 3 days the instructions in the box will be wrong but the correct settings etc can be found on sky.com/customer support/broadband/Sky email FAQS
Also if you are running vista do NOT install the CD that comes with the router, all that is on the CD is an upgrader for Internet Explorer to take it to IE7 and McAfee security suite which you can download from MySky anyway. The downloadable version is more up to date and works correctly with Vista. The CD version of McAfee does not always install properly on Vista and can lock the PC up.
Other than that you basically just plug the router into a filter that is provided, plug the router into the PC (or connect wirelessly) and then browse away. The CD is not essential to the installation of the BB connection. Just make sure if you have more than one phone socket with something plugged into it that you filter all sockets with connected telephony equipment and if possible plug into your main/ master socket.

greencreeper · 12-11-2007, 22:54

The router box had a band around it, telling me the email setup had changed. I won't be using it - have my own. And as for the CD - never use any ISP's CDs. Bound to install something dodgy, fiddle with the registry, or overwrite system files.

One thing I find very cool is that I can listen to streaming radio and move the LAN cable between my NTL and Sky routers, without losing the connection. It's a mystery to me but I do like technology - when it works

PeteTheMusicGuy · 13-11-2007, 10:35

set up sky BB for my aunt a few weeks ago she's impressed with it

LooieENG · 14-11-2007, 17:22

Right, the BT line has been installed (Sky paid the £130 re-connection charge

), but on the letter from Sky it says, "after the line had been installed, please wait 5 working days and then ring us to confirm."

The line is already working though, so I don't know what that's about. Should we wait, or...?

Paul · 14-11-2007, 17:43

Yes you wait for 5 days after the installation so that the line is live and showing on the database. Then you can order as normal.

LooieENG · 14-11-2007, 20:05

Well, I just rang now, and they said the phone number I gave them belonged to BD22 XXX and we're BD20 XXX so I have to ring BT, and get them to update it or something

greencreeper · 15-11-2007, 01:00

I received a text on my landline, to say that broadband was active. I thought it was pretty cool

julie_152 · 17-11-2007, 13:47

I swapped over from Virgin to Sky broadband, but now I don't get access to Virgin's newsgroups - does Sky have a similar news server, where can I download it , and can it be put on a disk, then accessed "full screen" from the comp, rather than imported into Outlook Express? - which is crap!

Julie