Over £20 million worth of customers’ mobile data saved by Sky Mobile

Sky today revealed its mobile customers have saved over £20 million¹ worth of mobile data since the launch of Sky Mobile in January last year. UK consumers waste an estimated £2bn² each year, equivalent to an average of £100 each, as they buy more data than they need to avoid going over their data allowance.

The huge amount of data saved, close to 2.2 million GBs, is equivalent to streaming over 3 million hours of TV and movies on a phone, streaming and listening to 440 million songs, or sending over 30 billion instant messages on WhatsApp.  

The data has been saved by using Sky Mobile’s Roll and would otherwise have been wasted, as it represents the collective amount of unused data on customers’ allowances at the end of each month.

Many mobile networks do not allow customers to keep their unused data. If a customer’s monthly data allowance is 2GB and they use 1GB, the second 1GB is lost at the end of the month – even though the customer is still charged for their full allowance.

To ensure customers don’t overspend or waste money paying for data they don’t use or need, Sky Mobile launched Roll, which automatically rolls over any unused data into their Sky Piggybank every month and is saved for up to three years to use whenever they need.

Liz Wynn, Commercial Director for Sky Mobile, said: “When we entered the smartphone market we wanted to tackle the issue of unused data and customers paying too much for their allowance. Over 20 million³ people in the UK were regularly buying more data than they needed to avoid going over their data allowance, and accepted this as the norm. We created Sky Mobile and Roll to challenge this status quo. One year on we can see its working, with our customers already saving £20 million worth of data.”  

Sky Mobile launched on 5th January 2017 with key features reflecting the way consumers use their phones:

• Roll – customers can automatically roll over any unused data into their Sky Piggybank each month, to use whenever they need for up to three years
• Mix – customers can create a plan of calls, texts and data that’s right for them, which they can change every month
• Save - Sky TV customers get Unlimited Calls & Texts for free as part of their Sky Mobile package
• Swap – for those who always want the latest mobile model, Swap12 allows customers to upgrade their phone every year without changing their contract. Or customers can opt for Swap24 and get Sky’s lowest monthly price on their handset with the option to upgrade after two years, or keep their phone and reduce their monthly cost further

More details on Sky Mobile can be found at sky.com/mobile.  

For further information, please contact:

Fever PR
skymobile@feverpr.com


Notes to editors

¹ 1GB of data valued at £9.74 by FDM (Future Digital Media). Historical average cost per GB between May and Dec 2017 for BT, CPW, EE, GiffGaff, O2, Sky, Tesco, Three, Virgin Media and Vodafone. Average cost per GB = Monthly cost / amount of GB offered
² Kantar World panel market sizing and allowance data, plus internal estimates
³ Data established from ICM Unlimited research sample of 1,631 where half of respondents (50%) admit they deliberately buy more data than they actually need or use each month and the number of people with smartphones in the UK (39.7 million) from Kantar Worldpanel, November 2016.

Sky Mobile at a glance

• Swap: Swap24 Subject to status and credit check. 30 month interest free loan required for Swap24.  Data Plan required for duration of Swap plan, subject to 12 month minimum term.. 18+.  See sky.com/swaphelp for details.
• Roll: customers can redeem rolled-over data in 1GB increments. Data in Sky Piggybank expires after three years
• Mix: customers can choose to switch their calls, text and data package at any time during their contract. Downgrades are effective in the month following selection
• Save: free Unlimited Calls and Texts will end on cancellation of TV subscription and standard published prices will apply. Inclusive calls to standard UK landlines (01, 02 and 03) and inclusive calls and texts to standard UK mobile numbers (07). Sky TV from £22 per month plus set-up costs. Subject to our acceptable use policy at sky.com/mobileterms
• Sync: Sky TV customers with a compatible Sky+ box only (see sky.com/compatible). Not compatible with Sky Q. Selected content only. Sync recordings on home broadband. Cached view available out of home. Sky+ and Sky Go apps required. UK/Ireland only. Concurrent online viewing on two devices. Two downloads per programme.  Content deleted from device 48 hours after viewing starts or no later than 30 days after download. Compatible device and software requirements at sky.com/skygodevices

About Sky

Sky is Europe's leading entertainment company, serving 22.5 million customers across five countries - UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy. The company has annual revenues of £12.9 billion and is Europe’s leading investor in television content with annual programming spend of over £6 billion.

From exclusive partnerships with HBO and Showtime, to Sky Original Productions, Sky offers the best and broadest range of content along with the best viewing experience to suit each and every customer. Whether that’s through the multi-award winning next generation box, Sky Q, or Sky’s contract-free online streaming service, NOW TV, customers have access to the latest movies, drama, sports and kids entertainment wherever and whenever they like. This is all supported by Sky’s best in class customer service.

Sky’s success is not just based on what the company does but how it does it. Named as one of the Top 10 Green Companies in the World by Newsweek, one of the world’s most recognised rankings of business’s environmental performance, Sky ensures its responsible business strategy is embedded right across the group.  

Sky has over 31,000 employees and is listed as one of The Times Top 50 employers for women. Sky is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).