Sky Mobile adds 100,000 users in Q3

Sky Mobile added 100,000 new customers in the most recent quarter, as the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) continues to grow and help Sky’s revenues in the UK.

According to the company’s results for the nine months leading up to 31 March 2018, Sky Mobile now has 437,000 customers - just over a year since the network launched.

The growth in mobile, along with other services like Sky Q Multiscreen, was cited as one of the reasons for a four per cent rise in nine-monthly revenues in the UK and Ireland to £6.7 billion.

Growth

“Against the back drop of a challenging consumer environment, this performance reflects the continual improvement in our broad set of products and services and our focus on providing great value every single day – something recognised by customers now taking over 62 million subscription products from us and our services reaching over 120 million people across Europe,” declared Jeremy Darroch.

Sky is best known for its satellite technology and sports content but has diversified significantly in recent years due to the popularity of cheaper streaming services like Netflix and the increasing cost (and competition) of competing in the sports TV market.

Sky Mobile launched in January 2017, using O2’s network to deliver its services, hoping to entice Sky’s broadband and television customers with attractive pricing, data rollover and flexible tariff switching.

At the time of the launch, Sky claimed it was the ‘deepest MVNO ever built’ with Sky controlling significant parts of the network, including billing and SIM provision.

The MVNO allows Sky to compete more effectively with BT and Virgin Media – both of which offer quad-play packages of landline, broadband, television and mobile services –and there are signs of growing momentum with more than half of the customer base added over a six month period. In addition to the 100,000 customers added in Q3, it added 131,000 in the previous quarter.

Steve McCaskill is TechRadar Pro's resident mobile industry expert, covering all aspects of the UK and global news, from operators to service providers and everything in between. He is a former editor of Silicon UK and journalist with over a decade's experience in the technology industry, writing about technology, in particular, telecoms, mobile and sports tech, sports, video games and media.