Connecting the phone line to a Sky box

donieoc · 19-07-2005 08:47AM #1

Hi,

Would anyone in the know be able to estimate the percentage of Sky boxes in the Republic that are actually connected up to the phone line? I believe that you are supposed to connect it for 12 months, but that Sky don't really enforce it. Is this the case? Do most people just ignore it and leave it unconnected?

dmeehan · 19-07-2005 09:47AM

as i have multi room at the moment i have it connected
but before when i only had the standard sky box, i left it in for a about a month and disconnected it after that. i only reconnected it when ordering box office

seabee · 19-07-2005 09:56AM

The phone line was never connected to my digibox. I've ordered stuff from Box Office in the past and I didn't need to plug it in either.
What is it used for any way? Updates etc?

dmeehan · 19-07-2005 10:29AM

updates come over the air from the sat.
feck it i always thought you would need the fone connection for ordering sky box office

zuma · 19-07-2005 10:33AM

There is no way that Sky Multiroom requires the skybox connected.

We have BB here and intend on getting SkyMultiroom...but have read nothing about the need of having it connected to the phone line.

Rippy · 19-07-2005 12:13PM

No Zuma, mutiroom must be connectd to phoneline at all times. I f you disconnect sky will charge you two full subscriptions. Having them both connected is the only way Sky can ensure they are being used at the same address.
If you are in your first year contract and disconnect the box, sky can enforce a "clawback " on the agents comission. In pratice they rarely do as they don't want to upset agents too much...

donieoc · 19-07-2005 01:28PM

Thanks for the replies.

The main reason for having the phone connected is to give a return channel for interactive services and hence a revenue stream for Sky. For example if you want to vote for who gets evicted from a reality tv show via the red button, then you will be charged for the phone call and the operator (Sky) will take a cut from the telco.
Another area where it is used is for interactive advertising whereby viewers who interact with an iAD can for example request a brochure or book a test drive for a car and the operator would then sell this lead to the advertiser.

In the UK they tend to send out threathing letters if you disconnect the phone line, but from what I've gathered they are not as pushy about it here.

Tony · 19-07-2005 02:35PM

zuma wrote:

There is no way that Sky Multiroom requires the skybox connected.

.

absolute rubbish

Zapho · 19-07-2005 02:43PM

seabee wrote:

The phone line was never connected to my digibox. I've ordered stuff from Box Office in the past and I didn't need to plug it in either.
What is it used for any way? Updates etc?

It is used for box office. If no phone line is connected, it lets you view anyway (it assumes there's a problem with your phoneline) and then when you reconnect your phone line it charges you. You're allowed something like 6 purchases before it stops working, I think.

donieoc · 19-07-2005 03:38PM

Zapho wrote:

It is used for box office. If no phone line is connected, it lets you view anyway (it assumes there's a problem with your phoneline) and then when you reconnect your phone line it charges you. You're allowed something like 6 purchases before it stops working, I think.

I believe that's how they pressure you into connecting it up in the UK. I've heard of people getting huge bills for "films that you could have watched, but we don't know as your phone isn't connected". They don't tend to follow them up, but it does entice people to connect up the phone line.

seabee · 19-07-2005 03:39PM

Thanks Zapho I think I've onlymade 4/5 box office purchases-so far so thats why it has no affected me.

zuma · 19-07-2005 06:40PM

Rippy wrote:

No Zuma, mutiroom must be connectd to phoneline at all times. I f you disconnect sky will charge you two full subscriptions. Having them both connected is the only way Sky can ensure they are being used at the same address.
If you are in your first year contract and disconnect the box, sky can enforce a "clawback " on the agents comission. In pratice they rarely do as they don't want to upset agents too much...

Thats plain stupid!!!

Well Im not getting multiroom now then.

chorus techy · 19-07-2005 06:51PM

zuma wrote:

Thats plain stupid!!!

Well Im not getting multiroom now then.

Its not stupid, its to stop, say, you and your friend going split on a sky sub with multiroom, as opposed to you both getting a seperate sky sub each.

Tony · 19-07-2005 06:57PM

zuma wrote:

Thats plain stupid!!!

Well Im not getting multiroom now then.

perhaps you should also edit the misinformation on your earlier post

paconnors · 19-07-2005 07:03PM

we have sky multroom and i disconnected on of the box to what would happen a week later we got a letter from sky informing us that one of our boxs was disconnected.

ElNino · 20-07-2005 12:37AM

donieoc wrote:

In the UK they tend to send out threathing letters if you disconnect the phone line, but from what I've gathered they are not as pushy about it here.

From my experience that is not true. I disconnected my phone line a couple of times and received warning letters within days.

bk · 20-07-2005 05:23PM

The phone line thing is a really bad idea, sky really need to find an alternative.

Increasingly people no longer have a phone line in there house. People aren't willing to pay the high Eircom rates anymore and are happy with their mobiles. The number of people getting their phone lines disconnected has increased drastically acccording to Eircoms annual report and a recent survey of young people found that most don't plan on getting a phone line when they buy a house.

My sister is a perfect example, she recently bought a new house and wanted to get Sky, however she was turned off it when she learned that she had to have a phone line (which she doesn't want) or pay an extra €100 to Sky. Well guess what, Sky just lost a potential customer and I believe this will become increasingly common.

ac00785 · 23-07-2005 06:25PM

Sky are discriminating against those of us that have a VoIP telephone connection (Blueface) as the Sky box will not callback using it. This is becoming more popular and Sky are going to have to be more accomadating. I have to return my new multiroom box as call back willl not work even though the box says the telephone line is connected!! Sky say the alternative is to pay the full price for the mirror sub! I dont think so!! Isn't value for money with one box!!

Rippy · 23-07-2005 11:32PM

ac00785 wrote:

Sky are discriminating against those of us that have a VoIP telephone connection (Blueface) as the Sky box will not callback using it. This is becoming more popular and Sky are going to have to be more accomadating. I have to return my new multiroom box as call back willl not work even though the box says the telephone line is connected!! Sky say the alternative is to pay the full price for the mirror sub! I dont think so!! Isn't value for money with one box!!

As stated previously , connecting both boxes to the same phone line is the ONLY way that Sky can ensure both boxes are being used at the same address. I am sure that to Sky, with millions of subscribers those without standard phone lines are a very insignificant mminority. When VOIP becomes the consumer norm Sky will have to re-think their strategy, until then they will do what is cost-effective.
Remember, Sky are not a public service provider, they are in it for the money, and no one has a 'right' to use any of their services.

Sparky · 25-07-2005 12:57AM

i got two letters in the past and played the old soldier over the phone to them by saying that the house is in a state and is being done up and that the digibox was connected two days ago and is somwhere in the dining room with all the funiture, i think i still have the skyplus box connected because thats in the bedroom, let me check for you, (covers mic with hand for 30 seconds, then pretends to be out of air) yeah sorry about that you were right the phone connection was out must of being when i was moving the home cinema amplifier, the opticial cable was a bit twisted around the telephone line, anyways im sorry for the trouble caused, since the house is kinda in a bit of a mess.

has worked twice for me, just have to change the story slightly to make it more genuine, but tbh the sky+ box has been connected and the multiroom box hasnt for ages and they have never got on to us at all since.:D

LFCFan · 07-12-2005 10:24PM

Sky Box Office purchases work because your card has a credit on it up to around €50 which allows you to purchase movies. Then the box dials home at some stage before your bill is due to see if you've ordered anything and then top up your card's credit again once the charge goes on your account.

I am in the process of ditching €ircon and using NTL BB and VOIP. I'm well past my year with Sky so don't need the line connected so that's not an issue right now but if I wanted to get multiroom or get the new HD box I wouldn't be able to as long as Sky + VOIP doesn't work.

Is there are chance the VOIP would work if you're using a Telephone Extender device?

Wigertoods · 08-12-2005 02:23PM

Had a Sky engineer (well actually a sierra engineer working on behalf of sky)
out to install sky+ and multiroom.At the time he arrived the room that the original box was to be installed in was being renovated and was a bit of a mess.Told the guy that there was no point in running the phone cable in to it and that I would do it when the renovations were complete.He was fine with this (less work for him I presume).
Anyway the room has been completed and I haven't got round to running the cable yet (two weeks later). still no letter or call from sky to say that the box is not connected to a phone line.

Bluefish · 08-12-2005 02:52PM

I have sky Multiroom and am currently into the second year. During the first year I disconnected one of the boxes to put all my equipment into a shelf unit. Sky sent me a letter stating that the box had been disconnected and that that I had commited to having both boxes connected to the phone lines at all times.

Since then the initial 12 months has passed, I have had the room renovated and as a result moved all the equipment from the room and disconnected the box from phone line. That was over three months ago and I still havnt reconnected and not a word from sky as yet.

watty · 08-12-2005 04:10PM

LFCFan wrote:

Sky Box Office purchases work because your card has a credit on it up to around €50 which allows you to purchase movies. Then the box dials home at some stage before your bill is due to see if you've ordered anything and then top up your card's credit again once the charge goes on your account.

I am in the process of ditching €ircon and using NTL BB and VOIP. I'm well past my year with Sky so don't need the line connected so that's not an issue right now but if I wanted to get multiroom or get the new HD box I wouldn't be able to as long as Sky + VOIP doesn't work.

Is there are chance the VOIP would work if you're using a Telephone Extender device?

No.

The Sky modem should work however with Broadband / cable suppliers such as Degiweb Metro, Chorus/NTL digital that use a DOCIS box with POTS on it (telephone jack sockets). Those services let you transfer the existing Eircom geographic number and will let Fax etc work.

The codec used on PC SW to convert audio to digital has too much compression on things like Messenger, Skype, EchoLink etc to alow modem tones from PC, Sky, Fax etc to work. The signal is too distorted.

watty · 08-12-2005 04:12PM

Bluefish wrote:

SNIP

That was over three months ago and I still havnt reconnected and not a word from sky as yet.

It can take 3 monthes for them to work round to complaining.

The system is to stop folks getting cut price sub and selling it on to Jimmy across Town.

Bluefish · 09-12-2005 09:51AM

Watty - I am by no means an expert on this, but I remember the sky person I was dealing with at the time of connecting saying that the multi room needs to be connected constantly for the first twelve months after that it can be disconnected. I remember thinking at the time if this was true they risk people taking advantage.

Anyway I will wait until I get my threatening letter before reconnecting as it saves an ugly white phone line all over my wooden floors.

DMC · 09-12-2005 10:48AM

No, multiroom subscriptions have to be plugged into the phone line all the time, even after a year.

Connecting the phone line to a Sky box

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