Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
GOOD NEWS ON the job front as Sky’s new wholesale deal with BT Ireland will see the creation of 900 jobs in Ireland this year.
Sky will be launching its Sky Talk and Sky Broadband services across the country later in the year and will open a dedicated customer contact care centre for Irish customers at Burlington Plaza in Dublin.
Advertisement
Sky said the new Irish operation will see its workforce increase by 900 over the next 18 months and recruitment is already under way.
The new services will now allow existing Sky customers in Ireland to unite their television services with a range of telephone and broadband packages from Sky.
JD Buckley, Managing Director of Sky Ireland, commented: “We’re confident of delivering the right products at the right prices so customers have a real alternative to the incumbent services they’ve been used to.”
Sky said Customers will be able to pre-register for broadband and talk in due course and prices will be confirmed in coming months.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Yes, Sky tv is an excellent service and certainly look forward to their introduction of broadband. Oh to be able to tell those useless bas*###s in Eircom to take a flying…….
Barry I don’t know where you live but I’ve got an O2 hotshot which I’ve had for about 6 months and have never had an issue! Speed is between 3 and 10 depending on what time you’re using and it’s €16.50 a month! Left Eircom as for 45 a month they could only offer 1mb speed.
Ted Carroll, “Mobile Broadband” is extremely hit and miss.
Just because it works for you doesn’t mean its perfect for others, it all depends on the amount of users on each mast. the more users the more the service degrades and slows and the mobile company can’t control this or improve it in the same way as they can with DSL as the amount of users can change at anytime (where as dsl is limited to a fixed amount of lines connected).
So if your service works fantastic somebody connected to the next mobile mast say 5miles away could have an awful unusable service. This is a problem that affects all so called “mobile broadband” company’s.
Skys anytime plus is available in Ireland, just connect your EThernet cable to your box from your internet modem and ring Sky and they’ll send in the signal
I cant see this hurting UPC to be honest, Sky ‘Eircoms’ broadband is woeful in comparison to UPCs 30-100Mb offering. You would want to be some tool to want to downgrade your broadband package just to get skys tv offerings coupled with a poor broadband offering. But yeah competition is welcome to be fair and maybe pricing impacts could follow
Regonald I’ve been with Sky since 2002. I left NTL/Chorus for them as Chorus’ service and support was rubbish. I’ve being paying the same price for Sky since then.
Problem they will have is that the phone line infrastructure is do shoddy that they will have to offer some really cheap as chips prices to pull people away from UPC’s far superior net package.
Exactly, Sky will be stuck using eircom wholesales bit-stream product which is the exact same product digiweb, vodafone, eircom, utv etc all use to provide DSL in Ireland.
Ireland also doesn’t have a LLU network like Sky have in the UK and they are never going to invest the sort of money needed to built a LLU network like they have in the UK as Eircom and toothless Comreg have made sure that bus is long long gone. (it needed to start happening 10 years ago).
People are expecting Sky to save them from Eircom and Three’s so called “Mobile Broadband” and sadly thats just not going to happen.
The likes of Dublin will of course get a better service but these area’s are already saturated by the likes of Digiweb, Magnet and UPC and again Sky would still have a alot of work to compete with UPC’s 100MB packages.
To be honest eircom in Dublin is a joke too, top speed of 8mb, which if you do a speed test it gets nowhere near, expensive and poor equipment given out. I just am lucky to live in one of the two fibre test estates (I think the other weirdly is in Wexford town?) where themselves and magnet are offering 100mb+ broadband, it just costs a bomb in comparison to UPC. I was just wondering aloud if sky might be able to get in on the act there and bring down the price of it in a bundle lol.
I thought they would be cable to utilise their existing satellite infrastructure.
If its just the existing Eircom, then it’s back to steam powered internet. Bummer.
premiership football you have to pay extra for on top of your normal subscription, and as for Sky Atlantic, that’s just HBO and you can download episodes on tinternet.
Why do you think sky hide all the BBC, ITV channels in services and don’t allow you the EPG or record them (unless that’s changed since I stopped using them)
Still you have to have sky to watch the footy, that’s why I have it, sky Atlantic is a nice bonus, much prefer watching tele on my box to my computer. All the bbcs and c4s are on the epg only itv needs to be manually tuned and that doesn’t bother me in the slightest seeing as its a steaming pile of that I only use for champions league.
Who in this day in age watches UTV, TV3, RTE, CH4 and so?? There’s only so much xfactor or big brother one cant watch, those stations are well outdated!
@Aaron, Channels you are listing there are Irish channels available free on soarview. Freesat is BBC 1 – 4, ITV 1-4, More4, E4, USA, CBS, Channel 5, film 4 and loads more. Plus you get around 5HD channels. Plenty of viewing on freesat, nearly all channels have the +1 which to be honest I always seem to turn on the TV and end up watching programs on +1… BBC are covering the Olympic over 24 channels for free as well as through the red button.
when I was with sky, I noted all the programs that we watch as a family and at one point we went 3 days of watching programs that were available for free, that was enough for me. I would recommend it to anyone, take note of what you watch and then see if its available free. you’ll be surprised. unless your into your football or a mad movie buff, then they have you by the balls…. !!!
Yeah I’ve been in touch myself and was told that they hope to have it available here real soon. I’m delighted I’ll also be switching to sky for my phone and Internet. They are a fantastic company to deal with…. with top class customer service personal both online and over the phone. One thing that always drives me mad with the likes of UPC is the 30 min “please stay on the line your call is important to us” well bleedin pick up the phone then!!!! Anyway never got that with sky anytime you’ve an issue they answer the phone very quickly.
Rupert Murdoch is very much a minority shareholder in sky these days, plus the fact that even if he employed everyone on the planet in humanitarian pursuits he would still make Lex Luther look like a good guy!
Have to say Sky are the dogs bollox, never a glitch, top notch service a complete contrast to UPC jokers – 90 minute wait to speak to a human being pish takers.
Would be great, of course it should be fibre but it would cost likely in the billions.
Instead we are all stuck paying eircom 26e a month for the pleasure of a PSTN line (just a plain old phone line) regardless of if we actually want to make calls or not, you have no other real choice in the vast majority of Ireland if you want DSL (unless you can get unbundled services like from Magnet etc but thats really only in citys).
Well it was, isn’t so much anymore. When it came out around 2006ish had the same problem they will have here, BTs network was out of date and limiting it. Since BT have modernised most of their network it has become a really good product, not on a par with cable but still very good and much much cheaper
Sky Broadband will still be limited to using the same crappy lines laid down by Eircom.
I have recently contacted Sky (inquiring about it) and they confirmed to me that they will NOT be able to give the speeds that are currently available to countries elsewhere – where the lines are of much better quality and that includes England.
For the foreseeable future, the bulk of the country is stuck using the same far out of date lines which really only slower speeds and a lot of line degradation.
BT remain one of eircom’s largest wholesale (reselling their services over eircom phone lines) and I’m sure have entered into this deal with Sky knowing that the fibre rollout by eircom will leave them able to offer a very strong triple play package to the Irish market.
It will be very interesting to see if Comreg will regulate the fibre market as heavily as the PSTN, seeing as how UPC are now verging on being the SMP, and look for it to be offered to other competitors as an unbundled (sic) product.
No they won;t, satellite broadband is next to useless and isn’t very cost affective or good for such services as online gaming, voip….basically anything that requires a decent upload speed.
Just because Sky use sat for tv doesn’t in anyway mean that they’ll be using it for Broadband.
oh…ok wasn’t aware how useless the sat broadband was…. was only going by the sky guy that was on radio this evening… he was saying that they would be offering it through sat dishes and some deal with BT Ireland…. whom i thought was now vodafone at home! used to have internet with BT Ireland… then it changed to Vodafone at home…
Quiz: Can you spot which of these 'Irish' sayings are real and which are completely made-up?
32 mins ago
3.6k
11
Les Champions
France crowned Six Nations champions with victory over Scotland
The 42
38 mins ago
2.7k
15
Tallaght
Dublin primary school facing closure in April due to 'massive underfunding'
14 Mar
52.7k
100
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 157 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 109 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 141 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 111 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 83 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 83 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 38 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 34 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 132 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 60 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 74 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 83 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 38 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 46 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 27 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 90 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 97 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 72 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 53 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 86 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 68 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say