Gabriel Vanca | April 17th, 2024

Sky Broadband Gigafast

Sky Broadband Gigafast brings speeds of 900Mbps and promises to be the no-compromise solution. Not only is Gigafast the perfect choice for gamers and content creators, but it’s the right solution for the busiest homes as well as for those seeking to future-proof their broadband connectivity.

Key features

Here’s a quick rundown of Sky’s Broadband Gigafast package:

Price	£42 per month
Download speed	900Mbps
Upload speed	90Mbps
Broadband	Fibre to the premises (FTTP)
Home Phone	Line rental included
Parental controls	Broadband Shield, Broadband Buddy
Router	Sky Broadband Hub
Packages available	Broadband & phone, Broadband & phone & TV
Contract length	18 months

Who is Sky’s Broadband Gigafast for?

Sky’s recently released Broadband Gigafast package delivers download speeds of 900Mbps and upload speeds of 90Mbps, and it is Sky’s long-awaited answer to Virgin Media’s 1130Mbps package, launched in 2019. While Sky still lags slightly behind Virgin when it comes to download speeds, it manages to almost double Virgin Media's top upload speed, so content creators especially will love this package.

It should be noted that as a Full Fibre (FTTP) broadband package, Sky Broadband Gigafast availability is extremely limited with only about a third of households able to get it. That's why we offer you our postcode checker (above), so you can quickly and easily check.

Here’s a quick rundown of who Sky Broadband Gigafast is mainly for:

• Households with 5+ occupants or lots of devices – From your Kindle to your smart lightbulb, from your iPad to your wifi-enabled washing machine, the number of Internet-connected devices in your house is only sure to increase. Larger households with dozens of devices will greatly benefit from the increased bandwidth that comes with this package.
• Gamers – With Sky Broadband Gigafast, you can play the most popular online games with no discernible latency, or download those enormous 150GB+ AAA games in less than 25 minutes.
• Multiple streaming devices – Stream those epic sci-fi shows on Apple TV+ in stunning Ultra-HD (4K) HDR format on as many devices you want! (up to 50Mbps necessary per stream). Or download to your iPad as many episodes from your favourite show as you like before that long flight.
• Cloud storage – Whether you store your photos on iCloud, keep your study notes on One Drive or share documents with your co-workers on Google Drive, Gigafast will ensure that you can rapidly save them on the cloud and access them whenever you want.
• Content creators – Whether you live-stream in 4K on Twitch (9Mbps) or YouTube Live (over 60Mbps), or you want to get your latest video on YouTube or share your artwork with your clients, Sky Broadband Gigafast will allow you to concentrate on content creation rather than on troubleshooting network speeds.
• Those who simply want the best – Sky’s highest speed package is perfect for those who want the best speed available whilst also future-proofing their home.

How does Sky Broadband Gigafast compare?

Unlike Sky’s entry-level and some of its mid-tier broadband packages, Sky Broadband Gigafast is only available through the newer and faster Full Fibre technology (where a fast fibre cable, rather than a slower copper one, comes all the way to your property). That means that the availability of this package is significantly reduced to select areas (about a quarter of UK households).

Let’s take a quick look at how Gigafast compares to the other Sky Broadband packages:

What is included with Sky Broadband Gigafast?

As all major providers, Sky’s packages come with no data quotas or restrictions, though you might expect some impact on your speed due to network congestion during peak hours (8 pm to 10 pm, Monday to Sunday).

Gigafast comes with the Sky Broadband Hub router, one of the more premium routers among the large broadband providers. Counting a total of eight wifi antennae (more than its competitors), the router provides rich wireless coverage throughout your home and a low latency connection.

Sky Broadband Hub Router Specifications

• Current gen wifi – The Sky Broadband Hub uses the ubiquitous wireless standard WiFi 5 (802.11ac) introduced in 2013. This is somewhat disappointing, but you can upgrade to the Wi-Fi 6-enabled Sky Max Hub for an extra fee, and we strongly recommend Sky Gigafast customers do so. This means adding the Sky Wi-Fi Max add-on.
• VDSL2/ADSL 2+ – VDSL2 means the hub can be connected by super-fast fibre optic cable to your home (once it becomes available), while ADSL2+ means you can also connect via a phone line
• Smart channel selection – The Smart Hub automatically connects your devices to the fastest wifi channel and frequency available
• Smart scan – The router continually checks your network connection as well as its own performance and automatically reboots if there's a problem
• Dual band – The Sky Broadband Hub uses one 2.4GHz band and one 5GHz band
• Four Gigabit ethernet ports – The Sky Broadband Hub has four gigabit Ethernet ports, so you can wire directly four different devices (or more if you purchase a network switch)
• Eight antennae – Thanks to its eight in-built antennae, the Sky Broadband Hub can provide strong WiFi coverage throughout your home
• Reduced latency when gaming – The Sky Broadband Hub supports 4x4 MIMo (four antennas for four simultaneous data streams), which means that wireless devices can communicate simultaneously with the router without having to wait so often for each other, therefore greatly improving latency
• Internet calls – Sky Broadband Hub has a VOIP handset socket to allow the connection of an internet phone handset
• Support for many devices – Over 120 devices can be wirelessly connected to the Hub

Extras

The Sky Broadband Hub router comes with a set of free tools known as Sky Broadband Shield that provides parental control (Safe Search) and protection against malware-infected and scam (phishing) websites.

This package also comes with Sky Broadband Speed Guarantee as standard, so if the speed of your connection falls below the minimum guaranteed speed (600Mbps), you can claim a full month’s money back.

Not unlike Sky’s other packages, Gigafast is bundled with a free phone line (VoIP). The phone service is pay-as-you-go by default, but Evenings & Weekends, Anytime and International packages are available for a monthly fee.

Sky Broadband Boost is a suite of premium benefits that Sky offers for a small monthly fee. Notable is Sky’s WiFi Guarantee which promises wifi coverage in every room (at least 3Mbps), possibly with the help of a Sky engineer or with the free installation of a Sky WiFi Booster, which extends the wireless coverage of your Hub.

Other Boost benefits include daily speed and reliability checks of the line, free engineer visits and, for Sky Mobile customers, an extra 2GB of mobile data for every unplanned broadband outage that lasts for more than 30 minutes (except at night). Finally, you get the Sky Broadband Buddy, an Android and iOS app which enables you to control how long members of your family use certain mobile apps and enable parental control when your kids are away from home.

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What we think

In addition to achieving great customer satisfaction and enjoying a reputation as a premium broadband provider, Sky now manages to compete in the gigabit-class broadband market with a robust and well-priced broadband package. Sky Broadband Gigafast comes with a premium router and stunning customer service and can be bundled with Sky’s awesome TV bundles.

While gamers and content creators will love this package the most, Gigafast is perfect for all those who want the best available speed and to future proof their home network.