Sky to let Be Broadband customers use their own routers

[Simon]

Sky will allow Be Broadband customers to continue using their own routers - even though it doesn't extend that courtesy to its own customers.

Sky bought Be Broadband and O2's landline business from Telefonica earlier this year. That left many Be Broadband customers fearing that they would be forced to use Sky's own-brand router, which Sky effectively forces on its own customer base.

However, in a letter sent to Be Broadband customers, Sky explains that it's planning to support third-party router equipment. "We are also aware that some BE customers would like to keep using their own routers and certain features such as Static IP, which is why we're working hard to develop support for these important features on Sky's network," the company writes.

The letter may be an attempt to stem the tide of defections from the O2/Be customer base since the Sky takeover was announced in March. Figures released earlier this week showed the two ISPs had lost more than 40,000 customers since the end of 2012.

Read more: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/broadband/381757/sky-to-let-be-broadband-customers-use-their-own-routers#ixzz2T4StmFss

[Glenn]

Reading between the lines, it should have read "We can't afford to replace all of the routers currently in use by ex BE subscribers, so we will save money and let them continue to use their own kit."