Sky has unveiled Sky Mobile, its own MVNO that will allow the pay-TV and broadband operator to become a quad-play services provider. The MVNO will operate on O2 UK’s mobile network, offering three-year data rollover, free calls and texts within the UK, flexible plans and Sync.
Under the terms of the new service, mobile phone owners will be able to keep their unused data for up to three years in their ‘piggybank’. Families will be able to take up to five Sims and share any unused data stored in their piggybank. Subscribers will also be able to create their own plan and change that plan every month. Sky TV customers will get free UK calls and texts with any Sky Mobile plan.
Users will also have the the ability to sync with their Sky+ box (GBP 60 per year value). Sync allows users to create personal playlists of favourite shows to watch, at home or on the go. Customers can stream programmes over 4G or download over Wi-Fi for later viewing. Sync can be used on up to four devices. The service will be available for Sky+ customers at launch and those with a Sky Q box later next year.
Sky Mobile comes with three 12-month data plans: 1GB for GBP 10 per month, 3GB for GBP 15 per month and 5GB for GBP 20 per month. Non-Sky TV customers can add unlimited calls and texts for GBP 10 per month, or pay for calls and texts on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Sky said customers will have complete flexibility in managing their own data allowance, by either changing their plan to add more data at any time, by redeeming data from their piggybank, or buying a 1GB ‘Add On’. Customers will be notified when they’ve used their monthly data via text message and any extra data they’ve redeemed or added can be used straight away. Customers will also be free to change their mix of data, calls and texts every month.
Sales for Sky Mobile Sim-only contracts are set to start in mid-December for existing customers, with the full market launch scheduled for the new year. In the course of 2017, Sky Mobile will expand its offering to include top handsets from Apple and Samsung, as well as from other providers to be confirmed nearer the time. Meanwhile, pre-registrations for Sky Mobile are open and have reached over 46,000.
