Phone line for Sky?

MrPillowTalk

Anyone know why a phone line is required to have a sky box?

barnicles

To encourage you to use box office etc.

redout

Main reason is so they can run a line check to make sure that you have not removed the dish/box from contracted location. Ton's of people take them to there holiday homes outside the UK & Ireland and this is illegal. Also some people sell them. After 12 months you can unplug the phone line but still not suppose to bring it abroad and hook up your sky but lots do. I am pretty sure I used box office without the phone line connected a few years ago, think its still possible just through the dish.

Rippy

redout wrote: »

Main reason is so they can run a line check to make sure that you have not removed the dish/box from contracted location. Ton's of people take them to there holiday homes outside the UK & Ireland and this is illegal. Also some people sell them. After 12 months you can unplug the phone line but still not suppose to bring it abroad and hook up your sky but lots do. I am pretty sure I used box office without the phone line connected a few years ago, think its still possible just through the dish.

Rubbish. You can pay sky a fee of €37 to avoid the contractual 1 year phone line. Main use is a stated to encourage the use of PPV programming and other interactive money spinners. Sky don't enforce phone lines on single boxes, only on multiroom installations to ensure all boxes on account being used at same address. Nothing illegal about taking and using a sky box out of UK & Ireland, just a breach of terms and conditions. Why do so many new users post misinformation?

redout

I had the installers in my house monday evening and no **** thats what he told me when I asked him why as I was not enthralled about the idea of having the two boxes connected. Funny thing is that when he was leaving he unplugged one of them and left the other one (multiroom) connected any ideas ? When I originally got Sky back in about 98 you had to have the phone line connected for 12 months as part of the contract so unless things have changed since then what you are saying is not accurate.

barnicles

redout wrote: »

I am pretty sure I used box office without the phone line connected a few years ago, think its still possible just through the dish.

It builds up a sort of iou on your box and when you Connect to phone line you will get charged.

pjamas

as lately as yesterday i introduced my brother to sky and i was asked if there was a phone line in the house and also that as part of the contract the box had to be connected to the phone line for a minimum of 12 months. take what you want out of that.:D

Newlifebegin

MrPillowTalk wrote: »

Anyone know why a phone line is required to have a sky box?

You dont need a phone line at all but you need one for the Sky+ Box thats why we couldn't get that one....

I got our Sky box installed within the past month & didnt need a phone line.

Did sky tell you that You must have a phone line??

Newlifebegin

Rippy wrote: »

Rubbish. You can pay sky a fee of €37 to avoid the contractual 1 year phone line. Main use is a stated to encourage the use of PPV programming and other interactive money spinners. Sky don't enforce phone lines on single boxes, only on multiroom installations to ensure all boxes on account being used at same address. Nothing illegal about taking and using a sky box out of UK & Ireland, just a breach of terms and conditions. Why do so many new users post misinformation?

Yes this is true because I paid the €37 instead of getting a phone line installed which would cost me a bomb !!! :eek::eek:

€37 is nothing especially if you dont have a phone line & really want sky in. We had no choice but to go with sky (previous NTL customers) as our management company done a deal & when I rang NTL they checked the new developments in our area & ours was not on it so thats when we had to get sky...

Solair

I suspect that Sky "poll" their boxes now and then to gather marketing information about which channels are being watched. There's absolutely nothing to stop them doing this and the box dials 1800 numbers in the wee small hours of the morning...:eek:

If you've got itemised billing on some phone companies they list ALL calls, not just calls that cost money. Depends on the phone co, but we've seen odd 1-800 numbers dialled at strange times at night. When we called them we got a modem tone, so I assume its the sky box

byte

Solair wrote: »

I suspect that Sky "poll" their boxes now and then to gather marketing information about which channels are being watched. There's absolutely nothing to stop them doing this and the box dials 1800 numbers in the wee small hours of the morning...:eek:

If you've got itemised billing on some phone companies they list ALL calls, not just calls that cost money. Depends on the phone co, but we've seen odd 1-800 numbers dialled at strange times at night. When we called them we got a modem tone, so I assume its the sky box

I'd be pretty sure there's a law against having the box gather information about your viewing habits (with the exception of seeing what PPV events you ordered, so that you may be billed). Skybox would presumably need a fair chunk of memory to record all your activities too.

byte

redout wrote: »

I had the installers in my house monday evening and no **** thats what he told me when I asked him why as I was not enthralled about the idea of having the two boxes connected. Funny thing is that when he was leaving he unplugged one of them and left the other one (multiroom) connected any ideas ? When I originally got Sky back in about 98 you had to have the phone line connected for 12 months as part of the contract so unless things have changed since then what you are saying is not accurate.

You'd better make sure both boxes are connected. In the case of Multiroom, the phonelines are used to ensure both boxes are dialling from the same phonenumber.

If one remains disconnected for a period, Sky will start issuing letters telling you to sort it out, or pay full subscription rate for each box.

shayser

Newlifebegin wrote: »

You dont need a phone line at all but you need one for the Sky+ Box thats why we couldn't get that one..

Is this correct? I ordered Sky+. No phone line. Paid the €37.

byte

shayser wrote: »

Is this correct? I ordered Sky+. No phone line. Paid the €37.

Sky+ is indeed available without phoneline. Has been for some months.

Solair

byte wrote: »

I'd be pretty sure there's a law against having the box gather information about your viewing habits (with the exception of seeing what PPV events you ordered, so that you may be billed). Skybox would presumably need a fair chunk of memory to record all your activities too.

I'd read through the fine print in the Sky Contract. I'm pretty sure they're entitled to gather information for their own use, provided they don't pass it on to someone else without your permission.

It's been common practice for US cable companies to 'poll boxes' for decades.

It wouldn't actually require much memory. It only has to store lists of channel numbers and times, a few MB would be more than sufficient. Also, any of the Sky+ or Sky+HD boxes have tens of GB of disk space.

I'm not saying that they do gather information, I'm just saying it's technically possible and it would be highly desirable for deciding what to charge for listing each channel and where to put them in the guide. Not to mention an ability to give accurate viewer data for their own channels.

It really wouldn't surprise me or worry me if they do.

shayser

Any time I'm in the room in the early hours I hear the box coming alive (from standby) for a minute or two. Presumed it was calling home.

watty

redout wrote: »

Main reason is so they can run a line check to make sure that you have not removed the dish/box from contracted location. Ton's of people take them to there holiday homes outside the UK & Ireland and this is illegal. Also some people sell them. After 12 months you can unplug the phone line but still not suppose to bring it abroad and hook up your sky but lots do. I am pretty sure I used box office without the phone line connected a few years ago, think its still possible just through the dish.

1) So they can run a line check to make sure that you have not removed the dish/box from contracted location.
No it's not. They actually don't really care as long as the Rights Holders are happy.

2)people take them to there holiday homes outside the UK & Ireland and this is illegal.
No, it's not. It's perfectly legal within the EU and outside of EU nothing EU applies. It *might* contravene your contract Terms & Conditions, some of which is not legally enforceable. The only remedy Sky have is to cancel your subscription. That is to their disadvantage.

3)Also some people sell them.
Legal to sell the box, you own it from the start. The card belongs to Sky/NDS and can't be sold.

4)I am pretty sure I used box office without the phone line connected a few years ago, think its still possible just through the dish.
No. It's not. There is a certain amount of "credit" in the box. if ever connected to phone and it phones home, you get billed. Even if a new card / new owner. This is so you can watch if phone connection fails. Once that is used, no more films till the box phones home.
The Digibox can be told via Satellite (dish) to phone home. Via dish it can only ever receive. An ordinary LNB setup can't transmit back.


The subsidised install is subsidized by Interactive Services and Adverts, not just box office, such a Betting, Pay to Play and other things. The phone line is needed for these to work, hence an install without phone costs more.

If you already have a Sky box, Sky will send you a card and charge no install nor insist on a phone for a subscription.

If you want a discount "mirror" sub, both boxes need connected to SAME phone line (the location is actually irrelevant and it can work without CLI) to prove you have both and one subscription is not getting resold at a profit. I'll not explain right now how it works... But that can legally be abroad too.

Your post is entirely misinformation.

watty

I think they can gather info about your viewing habits as long as it is not passed on. It may need to be anonymized even for their own use. (Like which channels are never watched )

MrPillowTalk

shayser wrote: »

Is this correct? I ordered Sky+. No phone line. Paid the €37.

Thats strange, have a new house and wanted to get sky in they told me Id have to get a phonline installed first which means a few weeks without the telly, no mention of €37 opt out will give them a bell in the morning.

Newlifebegin

byte wrote: »

Sky+ is indeed available without phoneline. Has been for some months.

I dont believe it :eek: I was told recently that I could not get a Sky+ box because I had no phone line & I did pay €37... for a standard box... That was kinda stupid:( Wud have been gud for recording d sports for d other half wen d soaps are on.....