Sky has agreed a wholesale deal with BT that will allow it to bring its telephony and internet services, Sky Talk and Sky Broadband to Irish customers.
The move will create an extra hundred jobs at the customer service centre it plans to open in Dublin in September, where Sky now plans to employ 900 people over the next 18 months.
In a statement, Sky said that pricing and timing for all products would be confirmed over the coming months. It is not clear yet whether the service will be offered via satellite as with the TV offering or whether BT’s involvement will mean that DSL connections using telephone lines will be available.
Sky’s broadband and telephony services were launched in the UK in 2006 and they currently offer a deal that offers the basic TV package, free landline calls and 2GB of broadband data for £33.75 which includes a £12.25 line rental fee. Unlimited data and higher speed connections are available at a higher price. BT already offers the services in Ireland over phone lines and its basic package of calls plus 1MB broadband costs €35 per month.
“We’ve been looking at how best to bring our customers more choice and better value in broadband and talk,” says JD Buckley, managing director of Sky Ireland. “We’re confident of delivering the right products at the right prices so customers have a real alternative to the incumbent services they’ve been used to.”
