Sky: Why do I need a phoneline ?

DannyD

Hi,
I got a digibox today. The installer charged me 15 Euro for a tiny stretch of telephone cable from the socket to the box ,all in the same room:( . Why do I need this phone connection ? Is it only for use with the interactive (red butting thingy) service or is there another purpose for it? I assume it phone home which is probably the UK ? Anyone know what exactly the phone line does ? Thanks in advance.

dub45

DannyD wrote:

Hi,
I got a digibox today. The installer charged me 15 Euro for a tiny stretch of telephone cable from the socket to the box ,all in the same room:( . Why do I need this phone connection ? Is it only for use with the interactive (red butting thingy) service or is there another purpose for it? I assume it phone home which is probably the UK ? Anyone know what exactly the phone line does ? Thanks in advance.

AFAIK in addition to the box office/interactive stuff the phone line dials up and sends back some viewing information etc to sky. Supposedly its a free phone number...........

On what basis did the install charge you the 15 Euro I would certainly query this. What you describe would seem to be a standard installation and I imagine should be covered as part of the overall installation. Might be worth phoning sky and asking them what their policy is on such installation charges.

DMC

The main reason, really, is that you have signed up to a 12 month contract, and that box will ring back Sky to make sure its still there.

sergeant121

DMC wrote:

The main reason, really, is that you have signed up to a 12 month contract ...

... and signed to say you accepted the condition to keep the digibox connected to a fixed and operational telephone line for the first 12 months.

clarkbelt

The main reason really is because Sky offer you free equipment and free installation , and insist that you connect your digibox to a working phoneline in the hope that you will impulse purchase pay per view movies and interactive games to help them recover the cost of you connecting to Sky and eventually make a profit from you .


In the case of dual or mirror subs , the phoneline is important to establish that the box with the "reduced rental" is actually at the address you say it is and not at your mates house .

Tony

How much is tiny?

DannyD wrote:

Hi,
I got a digibox today. The installer charged me 15 Euro for a tiny stretch of telephone cable from the socket to the box ,all in the same room:( . Why do I need this phone connection ? Is it only for use with the interactive (red butting thingy) service or is there another purpose for it? I assume it phone home which is probably the UK ? Anyone know what exactly the phone line does ? Thanks in advance.

DannyD

The lenght of cable was about 10 feet max. I saw a piece of paper he had that said 10feet of telephone cable costs €10 and 15 feet costs €15.

Tony

DannyD wrote:

The lenght of cable was about 10 feet max. I saw a piece of paper he had that said 10feet of telephone cable costs €10 and 15 feet costs €15.

I'd hardly describe 10 feet as tiny , did he fix it to skirting?

bigpaddy2004

Tony wrote:

How much is tiny?

All the same, to be honest the installer did go over board if the socket was in the same room and just 10 feet away.

seano

All I can say is that I am happy that we have no such thing here in Holland as Free equipment or installation.

Tony

bigpaddy2004 wrote:

All the same, to be honest the installer did go over board if the socket was in the same room and just 10 feet away.

I'd normally agree Paddy but without seeing it its hard to say and the installer is not here to defend himself.

Roar

i dont have a phone line connected to mine. when i signed up the woman at the stand in the supermarket said i didn.t need one.

but i'm wondering if i can order pay per view without the phoneline? want to get the ol' royal rumble tomorrow night.

Gatster

I disconneted the phone line connection as soon as the installer left (11 months ago). There is, as far as I can see, no reason for it apart from pay per view stuff and maybe the occasional update.

I wouldn't worry about it and just disconect it, but €15 seems a bit steep.

Dub13

Roar wrote:

but i'm wondering if i can order pay per view without the phoneline? want to get the ol' royal rumble tomorrow night.

You used to be able to ring a number up and order it that way,I am not sure if you can still do this.

Dub13

Gatster wrote:

I disconneted the phone line connection as soon as the installer left (11 months ago). There is, as far as I can see, no reason for it apart from pay per view stuff and maybe the occasional update.

My father used to get letters from Sky saying his box was not connection to a phone line and he would have to pay extra if he did not connect it,I think it was his second box so maybe they thought he had it in a mates house.

irishgeo

Dub13 wrote:

You used to be able to ring a number up and order it that way,I am not sure if you can still do this.

It s costs an extra €1 to order via the phone line.

Also you dont need a phone line to recieve software updates.

Never had to install the phone line bit as we got Sky before they put it ino the contract.

donhughberto

Just a question.

Lets say i got a second box in my parents house two years ago and i have now decided to move and take second box with me to new house. Do i need a telephone line if i am willing to pay the full subscription in new house.

Twelve months is up so why should i need telephone line

irishgeo

donhughberto wrote:

Just a question.

Lets say i got a second box in my parents house two years ago and i have now decided to move and take second box with me to new house. Do i need a telephone line if i am willing to pay the full subscription in new house.

Twelve months is up so why should i need telephone line

You dont need the phone line after 12 months. You own all the equipment execpt the card which always belongs to SKY.i mean any card even FTV cards which technically in the eyes of the law you are breaking it by selling it.

On re reading your post if the second box is a mirror sub you may have to get a new card as the mirror sub requires the two cards to be on the smae phone number and they enforce this not matter how long you have the box.

The cost of moving to a new house will just be a new sub in either case.