Do I have to connect a sky box to a phone line?

[phil_cardiff]

My phone socket is miles away from the TV. Being a tight so and so I don't want to pay BT to install a new socket by the TV and I don't want ugly phone wires running around the house. Can I get Sky installed and remove the phone connection when the installation guy has left? I assume I'll lose sky box office capability and the ability to order pizza but I can live with that.

[Marcellus]

Aparently a sky box works perfectly well without the phone line installed!!

You loose the box office stuff but you can still use sky+ aparently

[Mr_Yogi]

IIRC you'll lose the ability to check your statements via your box, also ineteractive services probably won't work, but your Sky+ box should still work, providing you are not a multi-room subscriber.

[Bullett]

When we first got connected we got a few calls to say that our boxes were not connected by phone line. (I guess it phones home) and that the phone line is part of the contract.

So I connected it, they tested it all happy.

Disconnected it again and I've not heard from them since. Sky+ is fine, red button is fine, I don't use anything else so it works 100% for me with no phone line.

[dundarach]

in your contract it says for 12 months, or at least it did, after that no

having said that, i never have done

[FunkyGibbon]

contract states must be connected for a year.

However, I have the same problem as you.

The SKY engineer just gave me about 60' of phone cable so the box was connected to the phone line when he installed and registered the box. He then said disconnect they rarely check.

They never have.

[TubbyRutter]

As stated above the mrs hasn't had hers connected since they installed it, works fine.

[wiggy001]

Is the search function down again?

[phil_cardiff]

Paying for the bandwith Wiggy?

Thanks for the useful replies people.

[pies]

I was told you can request to pay a small fee about £30 which will mean you dont have to connect the phone line,apparently the boxes are subsidised from a third party.Their contract with Sky means the phone should be connected as they get their money from interactive services etc

Only what i was told not sure if its correct or not

[blueg33]

I never connect my skybox. Most interactive works ok, but I think you need it connected to buy stuff eg sky box office

edited to add that Sky have never mentioned it at all, not even when engineers had to come and fix a fault.

Edited by blueg33 on Thursday 28th January 17:16

[Ultuous]

pies said:

I was told you can request to pay a small fee about £30

I've heard exactly the same (missus was looking to get Sky without a phoneline last year)... That said, my parents unplugged their Sky+ box from the line in order to resolve a broadband connection problem several years back (my guess is it was on a dodgy filter, but I've never looked at it and they've never had a need for the interactive stuff) - Sky haven't raised any objection in all that time!

[Sine]

Had Sky for about 9 years and have never had it connected it to a phone line. TV works fine as does red button services but never use order a pizza or reserve cinema tickets or any of that gimmicky interactive stuff. I have however heard of friends recently for whom Sky refused to activate it until it was plugged into a phone line.

[Marcellus]

Sine said:

I have however heard of friends recently for whom Sky refused to activate it until it was plugged into a phone line.

In which case by th ebox off fleabay!