Sky is one of the leading providers of broadband suppliers in the UK. However, how much do you actually know about the company and its history? Most people have heard of Sky broadband, but they don’t know a great deal about the history and facts of its broadband service. Before deciding whether Sky is right for you, it helps to learn as much as you can about their broadband packages.

A brief history

Now known as Sky UK Limited, the company was formerly known as BskyB when it merged into the broadband sector. It was back in October 2005, when Sky bought out the EasyNet ISP at a cost of £211 million. Back then, EasyNet was one of just two companies that had made a large investment into local loop unbundling.

Sky customers can contact Sky using this Sky telephone number.

What is local loop bundling? Basically it allows multiple telecommunication companies to make use of the telephone exchange into a customer’s property. After the acquisition, Sky was granted access to an impressive 232 unbundled telephone exchanges. The bought out company was placed within Sky’s new division – Sky Broadband.

It was a move that brought great success for Sky, enabling the company to reach 1 million customers by October 2007. It also made a bold claim that it as adding a new customer to its list every 40 seconds. The success continued at a rapid pace, with 4 million customers signed up by July 2012.

Most recently in March 2013, the company bought out Telefonica UK for an initial £180 million, with an extra £20 million to be paid once customers were transferred. The transfer process was completed in 2014.

Sky Broadband facts

So what can you expect from Sky broadband? Being one of the largest and most successful broadband providers, does it offer anything unique? Below you’ll discover some useful facts surrounding the service.

There are three different packages to choose from and one of them is free!

Perhaps one of the biggest things that sets Sky broadband apart is its basic free package. Known as Sky Broadband Lite, customers are provided with up to 2GB monthly allowance. It’s advertised as the perfect package for simple daily browsing, online shopping and emailing. It’s worth noting that it’s only free for customers who sign up to the Sky Talk TV package and pay for Sky line rental.

Other packages include Sky Broadband Unlimited and Sky Fibre Unlimited.

It comes with free access to Sky Wi-Fi

Whichever package you sign up with, you’ll gain access to the Sky Wi-Fi service which you can connect to while out and about. There are thousands of Cloud hotspots throughout the UK, letting you surf the internet absolutely free no matter where you are.

Anti-Virus software is included for 12 months

One thing that sets Sky broadband apart is the fact it also supplies a 12-month free subscription to McAfee Internet Security Suite. So you can rest assured your computer will be well protected.

Overall Sky is one of the key players in the broadband sector, though you do need to be a Sky customer to benefit.