Sky Broadband Review Ireland 2026
Sky’s 500 Mb fibre is still often Ireland’s cheapest 12-month intro at €30, sold on Open Eir, SIRO and NBI. The catch got bigger in 2026: thereafter is now €67.50 — the harshest fibre cliff in the market apart from Eir — and Sky raised standard prices by €3.50 in April.
Sky review: key takeaways
- ✓Sky’s 500 Mb Ultrafast Plus is still often the cheapest 12-month fibre intro we see in Ireland — €30 a month, no setup fee — or €35 a month on a 24-month term. Both land on €67.50 afterwards.
- ✓It is a retailer, not a network: the same physical line can be Open Eir FTTH, Open Eir FTTC, SIRO or NBI, depending on the Eircode.
- ✓1 Gb Ultrafast Max is €40/month intro (then €70) and 5 Gb Ultrafast Max is €55/month (then €90) — both 12 months, both with a much higher thereafter.
- ✓TV bundles are the reason many people pick Sky. They only pay if you would buy Sky / sport anyway; broadband-only is available.
- ✓Switcher.ie 2026 awards covered provider, value and customer service. ComReg Q1 2026 puts Sky at 15.8% of fixed broadband lines.
- ✓No landline is required on full-fibre plans. The 14-day cooling-off still applies.
- checkRegularly the cheapest 12-month 500 Mb fibre we see advertised
- checkWorks on Open Eir, SIRO and NBI — so rural fibre is in play, not just towns
- checkStrong TV add-ons if live sport or Sky is the reason you pay
- checkNo landline required on full-fibre plans
- close€67.50 thereafter on 500 Mb — the harshest fibre year two apart from Eir (€1,170 over 24 months on the 12-month plan)
- closeStandard prices rose €3.50 in April 2026; the offer price is held for the offer term, the thereafter is not
- closeYou do not own the line: Sky is a retailer on wholesale fibre
- closeTV bundles only pay if you would buy the telly anyway
How Sky scored
Six categories, scored from published prices, contract terms, coverage and technology — not invented lab Mbps.
Sky at a glance
Plans and prices (August 2026)
Introductory monthly prices. Thereafter is what the same plan typically costs after the deal — the number that decides whether you stay or switch.
| Plan | Intro / mo | Thereafter / mo | Contract | Download | Upload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 Mb Ultrafast Plus · 12 months | €30 | €67.50 | 12 months | 500 Mb | 100 Mb |
| 500 Mb Ultrafast Plus · 24 months | €35 | €67.50 | 24 months | 500 Mb | 100 Mb |
| 1 Gb Ultrafast Max · 12 months | €40 | €70 | 12 months | 1000 Mb | 100 Mb |
| 5 Gb Ultrafast Max · 12 months | €55 | €90 | 12 months | 5000 Mb | 500 Mb |
Who it’s for
Households chasing the lowest year-one fibre bill, especially if 500 Mb is enough and the Eircode is on Open Eir, SIRO or NBI. It is also the obvious pick if you already want Sky TV or live sport on one bill. It is a weaker fit if you care more about year-two cost than the flashiest intro, or if you want a retailer that does not bake in an annual rise.
Get it if
- You want the lowest advertised 12-month 500 Mb fibre bill in Ireland (€30 intro, €360 for year one)
- Your Eircode is on Open Eir, SIRO or NBI and you do not need a landline
- You already pay for Sky TV or live sport and a bundle would not be wasted
- You are willing to switch or renegotiate when the intro ends
Skip it if
- Thereafter cost matters more than the intro — €67.50/month on 500 Mb is the real plan, and Pure Telecom lands on €50
- You want a retailer that does not use annual price-rise clauses
- You need symmetrical upload on SIRO — Sky’s 500 Mb and 1 Gb ads list 100 Mb up
- You are on a Virgin-only street and Sky has no wholesale path to the house
Networks they sell
Open Eir FTTH. Full fibre to the premises on Eir’s wholesale network. This is the Open Eir product you want: advertised Sky 500 Mb is 500 down / 100 up. Sky does not own the line — it retails it.
Open Eir FTTC. Fibre to the cabinet, copper to the door. Availability still shows up at older Eircodes. Treat “fibre” here as a marketing label: last-mile copper will not match the 500 Mb FTTH headline.
SIRO. Full fibre on the ESB-pole network (SIRO is Vodafone + ESB wholesale). Sky sells on SIRO where the poles reach. Sky’s advertised 500 Mb and 1 Gb plans still list 100 Mb upload — not the symmetrical SIRO tiers some other retailers quote.
NBI. National Broadband Plan rural fibre. If NBI has passed the house, Sky is one of the retailers that can sell it — useful outside towns, not a substitute for checking the Eircode.
Our verdict
Sky sits third in our fibre ranking in August 2026 (8.8/10, behind Vodafone and Pure Telecom) because the 500 Mb intro is still so often the cheapest 12-month deal on the board — €30, no setup fee — and because it sells on three wholesale networks, not one. Open Eir, SIRO and NBI means the same brand can follow you from a Dublin estate to a rural NBI pole. ComReg’s Q1 2026 share of 15.8% is the scale behind that; Switcher.ie’s 2026 provider, value and customer-service awards are why the service score sits at 9.0.
The commercial catch is what cost Sky the top spot. Thereafter on 500 Mb is €67.50 a month — the harshest fibre cliff we list apart from Eir. The gig is €40 then €70; 5 Gb is €55 then €90. Sky raised standard prices by €3.50 in April 2026, and the offer price is held for the offer term only, so the contract one-pager and any Contract Change Notification matter as much as the intro tile. Contract fairness is the weakest bar on the scorecard (7.0) for that reason, and value has slipped to 8.6.
Take Sky if year-one cost is the job and 500 Mb (or a Sky TV bundle you would buy anyway) is the product — and diary month 12. Compare Pure Telecom, which is now cheaper on both thereafter and the 24-month total (€35 then €50 on 500 Mb), Vodafone if SIRO symmetrical upload or a plan with no thereafter cliff is the point, and Virgin only if you are actually on a Virgin street. Check the Eircode first: Sky cannot invent a network that is not there.
We score Sky on contract fairness, year-two cost, coverage (which wholesale networks it sells), technology, and service — not on a lab Mbps we did not measure. Prices are introductory EUR as of August 2026, taken from the provider dataset we keep for every Irish retailer. Advertised download/upload are the plan figures Sky quotes; they are not independent speed-test results. No provider can pay for a better score.
Sky broadband: frequently asked questions
How much is Sky broadband in Ireland?+
As of August 2026, Sky’s 500 Mb Ultrafast Plus is €30 a month for 12 months, or €35 a month on a 24-month term — both €67.50 thereafter. 1 Gb Ultrafast Max is €40 intro / €70 thereafter. 5 Gb Ultrafast Max is €55 intro / €90 thereafter. No setup fee on the plans we track. Prices move — confirm at checkout.
Is Sky the cheapest broadband in Ireland?+
For year one, often yes — the €30 500 Mb intro is usually the cheapest 12-month fibre tile we see (€360 for the year). That is not the same as cheapest over a contract. Thereafter on that plan is €67.50 a month, so 24 months on the 12-month plan comes to €1,170; Pure Telecom’s 500 Mb is €35 then €50 (€1,020 over the same 24 months) and Vodafone’s 24-month 500 Mb is €870 with no cliff at the end. Model 24 months, not the tile.
What networks does Sky broadband use?+
Sky is a retailer. In Ireland it sells on Open Eir FTTH, Open Eir FTTC, SIRO and NBI. It does not run Virgin’s cable network. Which of those four you actually get is an Eircode question, not a brand question.
Does Sky broadband need a landline?+
No. Full-fibre plans do not require a landline. You may still see a phone add-on if you want one; it is not a condition of the fibre.
What happens when the 12-month Sky deal ends?+
You stay on the same plan at the standard rate unless you switch or take a new deal. On the 500 Mb plan that is €67.50 a month, versus €30 intro — more than double. Diary the contract end; Irish switching is designed to be used.
Does Sky put broadband prices up every year?+
Sky raised standard broadband prices by €3.50 a month in April 2026. The offer price is held for the offer term; the standard price you land on afterwards is not. Always check the contract, the one-pager of costs, and any Contract Change Notification — a mid-contract change can open a penalty-free exit. We treat Sky as a yes on built-in annual rise risk, unlike some independents.
Can I get Sky on NBI or rural fibre?+
Yes where NBI has passed the premises — Sky is one of the retailers that sells NBI, alongside Open Eir and SIRO in towns. Rural is not automatic: if the National Broadband Plan has not reached the pole, Sky cannot retail a line that does not exist. Check the Eircode.
Is Sky broadband good if I want TV and sport?+
That is the other half of the product. Sky sells TV bundles on top of the fibre. They make sense if you would buy Sky / live sport anyway. If you only stream Netflix and YouTube, pay for broadband-only and skip the telly surcharge.
How does Sky compare with Eir or Vodafone?+
Eir owns Open Eir and has the widest wired reach, but its 500 Mb intro (€34.99) is dearer than Sky’s €30 and its thereafter (€75.99) is the only fibre cliff worse than Sky’s €67.50. Vodafone co-owns SIRO and is our overall #1: 500 Mb is €25 for six months then €40 on 24 months, 1 Gb is €35 then €50, and neither price jumps when the contract ends — with symmetrical upload on SIRO. Sky wins the cheap 500 Mb year-one bill and the TV brand; it does not win every Eircode or any 24-month total.
What is Sky’s market share in Ireland?+
ComReg Q1 2026 puts Sky at 15.8% of fixed broadband lines. It is a large retailer, not the largest (Eir is 28%, Vodafone 20.7%, Virgin 19.9% on the same snapshot).
Did Sky win Switcher.ie awards in 2026?+
Yes. Switcher.ie’s 2026 awards cited Sky for provider, value and customer service. That is one input to our service score (9.0); it is not a reason to ignore the thereafter price.
How do I cancel Sky broadband in the cooling-off period?+
You have 14 days to cancel under the usual distance-selling rules. After that you are in the 12-month contract unless a Contract Change Notification gives you a penalty-free window. Switching at the end of the term is the clean exit; leaving early can mean an early-termination fee.