Sky goes from niche broadband provider to heavyweight

Sky has gone from being a pay TV company with a niche sideline in broadband and landline services to the UK's biggest triple-play provider in just a few short years.

The satellite broadcaster launched its first broadband product back in 2006 and made much of its entry-level service, which offered speeds of up to 2Mbps and only required customers to pay their monthly line rental to Sky.

Its impact on the market has been such that analysts at IHS iSuppli revealed earlier this month that Sky attracted more than half of all net broadband additions last year.

At the end of the first quarter of 2012, the company had 3.2 million customers on 'triple-play' packages comprising TV, broadband and home phone services.

But why has Sky enjoyed such success since entering the broadband sector?

Undoubtedly, price is an issue, with the company still offering its lowest package free of charge to subscribers who also take Sky TV, Sky Line Rental and Sky Talk Freetime.

However, there's now much more to recommend about Sky's broadband products than their low cost.

In recent months, the broadcaster has launched a fibre optic broadband service, with customers now able to enjoy speeds of up to 76Mbps.

Thanks to its fibre-based core network, Sky claims to be the only internet service provider not to manage the speeds received by any of its customers - a major plus for heavy users such as online gamers and those who download large amounts of music, films and other content.

Furthermore, Sky last month went head to head with BT by launching a network of thousands of Wi-Fi hotspots, allowing its broadband customers to log on using wireless-enabled devices while they are out and about.

Sky is clearly here to stay in the broadband market and if it continues to introduce value-added services while keeping prices low, the company is sure to enjoy further growth over the coming years.

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