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Satellite TV player’s new U.K. MVNO service lets customers carry over unused data for up to three years.
Sky on Wednesday shared the fiull details of its upcoming Sky Mobile service in the U.K., which will offer customers the ability to change their price plan every month, and carry over and keep any unused data for up to three years.
According to the satellite TV provider, the average U.K. mobile customer uses less than half their monthly data allowance , collectively wasting an estimated £2 billion per year.
Sky’s new MVNO service, hosted on O2’s network, lets customers carry over an unlimited amount of unused data every month, and store it in their own personal ‘piggybank’ for up to three years. In addition, families can register up to five SIM cards and use a joint piggybank.
"We felt it was time to shake up the mobile market and give customers a completely new way to manage their mobile plan – something no one else is offering. We’ve designed it based on what people told us they want – it’s easy, flexible and transparent and it puts the customer in control," said Stephen van Rooyen, CEO of Sky’s UK and Ireland business, in a statement.
Sky is offering three, 12-month tariffs: £10 per month for 1 GB; £15 for 3 GB; and £20 for 5 GB. Sky TV customers will get unlimited U.K. calls and texts for no extra cost, while non-Sky TV customers must pay an additional £10 per month for the privilege.
Sky+ TV customers will be able to use Sky Mobile’s ‘Sync’ feature to access recordings on their set-top box (STB), stream programmes over 4G, or download them to their device over WiFi to watch later. Sky+ customers will also get Sky Go Extra, which allows them to use Sync on up to four devices.
Sky said more than 46,000 consumers have pre-registered their interest in Sky Mobile. The service will launch to existing Sky customers and pre-registrants in mid-December. A full market launch will kick off in early 2017.
Only SIM cards will be on offer at launch; Sky said it plans to start selling handsets later next year.
