Sky Mobile review: Still a good option for Sky TV subscribers

Sky Mobile isn’t the cheapest or the fastest mobile network around, but it has a few strengths that always keep it in the running – especially if you’re a Sky TV or broadband subscriber. Customer service has always been good, with the mobile network picking up the Best Customer Service award in 2022 and a Highly Commended last year. Its “Piggybank” rollover feature is one of the best extras out there, and Sky TV subscribers can use their phones to stream their favourite shows through the Sky Go, Sky Sports, Sky Kids and Sky News apps without eating into their data allowance.

Sky hasn’t won any prizes in this year’s Mobile Network Awards, but it came close in the Customer Service category and did consistently well elsewhere. What’s more, nearly 78% of Sky Mobile users said they would be likely to recommend it to a friend, with over a third (34%) very likely. That isn’t as high a percentage as for Smarty, Giffgaff, Voxi or Lebara, but it puts Sky Mobile ahead of Three, Vodafone, O2 and EE.

Sky Mobile review: What do you get?

In a world where some networks offer a bewildering range of different plans with different contract lengths and features, Sky keeps things nice and simple, with all plans now including unlimited minutes and texts. SIM-only plans start from a cheap £5 for 100MB deal and go through some decent mid-range options, delivering 25GB for £16 or 40GB for £20. Sky also now offers an Unlimited plan, at £40 a month. Some of these plans are comparatively expensive – you can get Unlimited data for under £20 elsewhere – but Sky also has some tempting discounts. The 40GB deal is currently £12 per month for the first year, while the £30 100GB plan is currently £18.

Sky Mobile also sells phones with contracts, but with its own distinctive approach. You buy your device on a 24-month or 36-month contract, while paying for a data plan on top. You can then swap to a new phone and contract after either 12 or 24 months, without paying any early upgrade charge.

This can make Sky Mobile a good choice for a new smartphone, but you have to watch the contract term. For example, buy an iPhone 15 on a 36-month contract and you’ll only spend £23/mth on the iPhone and between £5 and £25 a month for your calls, texts and data. However, once the first 24 months are up, you’ll still have to spend £21/mth repaying the remainder of the phone contract. The £807 total purchase price is only £8 more than Apple charges. Sky is effectively giving you an interest-free loan, but it’s still worth comparing total costs with other networks to make sure you couldn’t cut a better deal elsewhere.

Sky Mobile isn’t usually the cheapest option out there for any given data allowance, but customers still feel they’re getting good value for money. More than 90% of users told our Mobile Network Awards survey that they were satisfied with the value of their package, while only 8% were actively dissatisfied. Those figures aren’t quite good enough to put Sky Mobile in contention for our Value award, but they do place it ahead of everyone bar Tesco Mobile and the no-frills networks on this front.

Sky Mobile review: Customer service

Sky Mobile lost out on this year’s Customer Service award but was in contention for a Highly Commended, where it was narrowly beaten by Giffgaff. Of the users we surveyed, 79% told us they were satisfied with the network’s customer service, with 32% of users very satisfied. However, Giffgaff had 44% of users very satisfied and fewer dissatisfied users (4% to Sky Mobile’s 7%), giving it the runner-up spot. Still, this isn’t a bad result at all, placing Sky Mobile comfortably in front of the chasing pack of networks. It’s clearly doing something right.

The most recent customer service and satisfaction research from Ofcom is just as complimentary. Sky has above-average scores for overall customer satisfaction and satisfaction with how complaints are handled. With just two complaints per 100,000 users, it has one of the lowest complaint rates in the industry.

Sky Mobile review: Coverage, reliability and speed

Sky Mobile operates as a virtual network, running on top of the Virgin Media O2 network. The most recent speed tests from RootMetrics (first half, 2024) place Virgin Media O2 last of the big four core networks on performance, with a UK-wide median download speed of 23.3Mbits/sec. That’s a long way behind the third-placed Vodafone (42.8Mbits/sec), let alone the performance leader, EE (79.8Mbits/sec). However, it’s an improvement on the 15.5Mbits/sec O2 scored in 2023.

What’s more, there are signs O2 is heading in the right direction. Its 5G median download speeds are steadily getting faster, reaching 79.7Mbits/sec, while the availability of its 5G services is growing. O2 now provides 5G services across 56% of the UK, according to RootMetrics’ tests.

Sky’s results for performance and reliability in our survey aren’t stellar, but they’re the best of any O2-based network, virtual or otherwise. Some 87% of users told us they can always or often get a solid connection for browsing the web, 65% said the same for audio streaming, and 59% said the same for streaming video. However, it looks like some users aren’t so lucky, especially when it comes to streaming video: 17% told us they could never stream video through their connection, or only do so rarely.

Sky Mobile review: Roaming

Sadly, EU roaming isn’t free on Sky Mobile. Instead, you have to buy the network’s Roaming Passport Plus add-on, which gives you your usual monthly allowance abroad for £2 every 24 hours. This kicks in automatically as soon as you call, text or use more than 10MB of data, and is subject to a fair-usage policy, but not any specific data cap. Some areas aren’t covered by Roaming Passport Plus, and these costs can escalate quickly, at up to £2.16 per minute, 50p per text and £2.16 per megabyte. However, Sky applies a £45 cap to stop you spending hundreds of pounds unintentionally.

Sky Mobile review: Other features, services and spending caps

Perhaps Sky Mobile’s best feature is its Piggybank, where any data left unused at the end of the month is rolled into the Piggybank, where it can be used up to three years later. What’s more, you can sign up multiple family members under one account, then share the contents of your Piggybank, and set different plans and spending limits for each SIM. Finally, being able to stream programmes and movies through Sky’s apps without using your allowance is a real bonus for Sky TV subscribers, allowing you to catch up on your favourite shows when you’re on the move – although you need to have 50MB of data left in your allowance to do so.

Sky Mobile review: Verdict

Sky Mobile doesn’t compete with the no-frills networks on price, or EE and Three on cutting-edge performance. Instead, it provides solid deals at decent prices, with some useful family-friendly features and streaming extras for Sky TV subscribers. Arguably, Voxi’s plans with its free streaming features now offer better value, but Sky Mobile is still one of the best of the more traditional networks, particularly when it comes to customer service.