Sky is finishing the bureaucratic process to launch a fiber optic subscription integrated into the TV subscription. Here's how it will work
We've been talking about it over the past few months and now the long-awaited moment finally seems to have arrived: Sky is about to launch its fiber optic offer. It's more than a year since the satellite broadcaster closed a deal with Open Fiber, the company owned 50% by Enel Energia and 50% by Cdp Equity that is bringing super-fast connectivity to many parts of Italy, to offer its customers a fiber optic subscription as well.
What may seem like a big novelty in Italy (a strategic partnership between a telephone company and a television broadcaster) is the norm in other parts of Europe. For several years now in the UK Sky has been offering its customers a telephone subscription thanks to the support of O2 and has become the second largest fiber optic operator in the country. The aim is to repeat this success in Italy, where it currently has 5 million subscribers. The fiber offering is expected to debut by the end of the year, but prices are still top secret.
Sky becomes a telephone operator: what changes
In the past, Sky had already signed partnerships in Italy with telephone operators to offer a super-fast connection along with satellite content. In that case, however, users signed two separate contracts: one with Sky for the satellite and one with the telephone operator for the Internet connection. Now, however, Sky will offer an all-inclusive package: fiber optic and satellite television subscription.
This way it will be able to make economies of scale and propose advantageous offers to new customers.
For satellite TV customers nothing should change, indeed, they will be able to use a new service to their advantage at an advantageous price.
Sky's fiber optic offers: the prices
For the moment the prices of possible Sky subscriptions for fiber optics are still top secret. And it's also complicated to make a comparison with the Sky Fiber offers in the UK: the two markets are completely different, as is the competition.
Sky arrives in the fiber optic market at a time when all Italian operators are focusing on this new super-fast connection. The satellite broadcaster, however, has on its side the possibility of creating all-inclusive packages in which, in addition to the Internet connection, it can also offer television content.
We can speculate on prices, which, however, have no basis. Sky could propose a package: Sky subscription + fiber subscription at about 50-60 euros. A price that could have a disruptive effect as Iliad. The first offers will come by the end of 2019.