PRESS RELEASE
29 December 2014 - Sky Broadband can reveal Britain's ‘connected Christmas' continued in 2014 after it analysed usage on its network, which reaches over 5 million homes across the country.
The amount of data crossing Sky's network peaked at 2Tbps - equivalent to about 1 million families streaming Disney's Frozen in HD at the same time - and 100% up on last year. On Christmas Day over half of Internet traffic was from streamed video services including Sky's On Demand service. Comparatively, on the famed Black Friday weekend Sky's network saw a lower demand as customers took to shopping online instead of streaming videos.
Usage on Christmas Day surpassed the levels seen from Christmas 2013, with a steady increase in traffic on the day between 8am and 12noon as families switched on to spread some Christmas cheer. The Sky Broadband network then saw traffic drop between 1pm and 3pm as families across Britain tucked into their turkey side-lining any new devices. Post lunch data traffic then started to increase again, reaching an evening peak at 11pm, as the family settled to stream the latest Box Sets, browse the Christmas sales beating the crowds and share pictures of their present haul.
Lyssa McGowan, Brand Director, Communications Products at Sky commented on the findings: "Our network data shows us that whilst family time is important on Christmas Day it's becoming condensed between 1pm and 7pm as families want to play with their new tech or settle down with one of the latest TV Box Sets. That's why having a totally unlimited DSL or fibre package has become so important to families, letting them stream and surf to their hearts' content with reassurance of the Sky network that offers 99.9% reliability."
Those considering joining Sky can find great Boxing Day offers available on Sky Fibre Unlimited and Sky Broadband Unlimited from today. Sky's Fibre Unlimited is superfast, unlimited and reliable so however advanced the latest gadgets unwrapped yesterday are, customers can be assured that their broadband connection will not hold them back.
Sky families online this Christmas can also set up Sky Broadband Shield to help protect any new connected devices. Available at no extra cost, Sky Broadband Shield is part of Sky's commitment to provide customers with effective and easy-to-use tools to help them to protect their families onlinewhatever the time of year.
Earlier this year, Sky joined forces with the other major broadband providers in the UK to launch internetmatters.org, an online portal dedicated to providing information, advice and support for every parent in Britain when it comes to internet safety for children.
For more information about Sky Broadband and the big Sky Broadband Sale visit sky.com/broadband.
About Sky
Sky is Europe's leading entertainment company. The group serves 20 million customers across five countries: Italy, Germany, Austria, the UK and Ireland. We offer the best and broadest range of content, deliver market-leading customer service and use innovative new technology to give customers a better TV experience, whenever and wherever they choose.
Sky has annual revenues of over £11 billion and is Europe's leading investor in television content with a combined programming budget of over £4.6 billion. The company employs 31,000 people and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).
About Sky Broadband
Sky Broadband is taken by over five million UK customers since its launch in 2006. Sky's own broadband network can now serve 90% of UK homes,
Our Sky Broadband Unlimited and Sky Fibre Unlimited products offer totally unlimited services with no usage caps, download limits or traffic management policies. We also offer inclusive UK landline weekend calls with Sky Talk Weekends to all Broadband and Fibre customers with Sky Line Rental.
Sky WiFi, is inclusive to all Sky Broadband customers on unlimited packages and Sky Broadband Connect customers, and provides unlimited WiFi access to over 20,000 Cloud WiFi Hotspots throughout the UK including high streets, restaurants, bars, transport hubs and hotels.
In November 2013, Sky launched the Sky Broadband Shield, a tool at no extra cost that helps all Sky Broadband customers decide which websites can be seen across all connected devices in their home. It also helps prevent access to malware infected and phishing sites.
