This topic

Landline with BT, ADSL with Sky - BT forcing cancellation of broadband

sia555 — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 19:36:34 GMT

Looking for some advice we have a landline with BT and ADSL with Sky.

There is no FTTP or FTTC to the house - checked on the openreach checker, BT have sent communications to say the landline is being upgraded.

Sky have informed us that the broadband is due to be cancelled on the 7th Jan. We haven't initiated any of this and Sky can't help to stop this ( despite several calls ). Phoning BT has proven useless as no one can help - they need my elderly father to give me permission to speak to them but I'm unable to get to him at the moment.

Is there an escalation route for this through BT?

We think it's due to digital voice but BT have sent no proper explanation of this change or that they have initiated cancellation of our broadband.

It's getting close to OFCOM complaint territory.

Thanks for reading and any advice.

Re: Landline with BT, ADSL with Sky - BT forcing cancellation of broadband

iniltous — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 21:29:37 GMT

BT cannot cancel your Sky broadband, but if you are on a legacy arrangement called SMPF , where you pay line rental to BT , and pay separately for broadband, in your case with Sky , this shared metallic path facility cannot exist in an all IP world which is what is currently happening , migration to Digital Voice (and off the PSTN network which isn’t an IP system) and the PSTN switch off is part of it , presumably Sky have decided to cease your broadband because it’s on SMPF , rather than start a negotiation with you again , it’s no longer viable to maintain this type of arrangement, it’s going to have to finish sooner rather than later, Sky presumably have decided to bite the bullet and terminate your service now ……you incorrectly ‘blame’ BT for this , it is impossible for BT to issue cease orders for other companies connections.

Sky first line customer service can tell you what they want , it doesn’t make it true , Sky have decided to cease your SMPF broadband, because it has to go anyway , they offered you probably many years ago the option to join Sky for broadband and telephony but presumably you didn’t accept their offer back then.

You also seem something of an oddity in that literally decades ago , when Sky gave all their SMPF broadband customers an ultimatum, join Sky for both telephony and broadband or find another broadband provider , so somehow you slipped through the cracks most didn’t get to stay on this shared arrangement, somehow you did .

SMPF was popular decades ago , when it was required to have BT providing a phone line so they ir others then could add broadband to it ( as an add on ) that hasn’t been the case for very many years, Sky has offered its own telephony for decades , SMPF has been a legacy product on the wane since then , frankly you should have acted earlier to get off SMPF while you still had ‘control’ of the process , basically you have run out of time and Sky have decided for you .

Contact Ofcom all you want but it’s difficult to see what your complaint is , Sky not BT have arbitrarily given you notice to find a different broadband provider ,that’s their choice , you are obviously at liberty to rejoin Sky for broadband and telephony ( if you want them to add telephony to Sky broadband) but you cannot stay as SMPF , or alternatively add BT broadband to your BT telephone (once Sky have removed your SMPF broadband service )

Finally , this is really a blessing in disguise, you will have been paying in the order of double the price that having broadband and phone with a single provider would be , that’s with either BT or Sky, doing this at any point in the last 10-12 years ( joining Sky for both services or BT for both services ) would have halved your costs , by delaying , it’s been ridiculously expensive, by remaining on SMPF for as long as you have , it’s probably costed you over £3000 more than necessary over the last ten years .

It seems pretty simple the way forward , decide who you want to be with , BT , Sky or even a new provider and then arrange to join them for both services , unfortunately by leaving it as late as you have , a period without broadband is probably inevitable, acting sooner would have been preferable and avoided any broadband down time .

Re: Landline with BT, ADSL with Sky - BT forcing cancellation of broadband

jac_95 — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 21:26:17 GMT

@sia555 To note that Openreach are also withdrawing and closing their LLU SMPF (Local Loop Unbundling Shared Metallic Path Facility) and SLU SMPF (Sub-Loop Unbundling Shared Metallic Path Facility) products along side their WLR (analogue phone service) by January 2027

We stopped selling new WLR across the UK on 5 September 2023. And as we continue our full fibre roll out, we’re also winding down the range of copper-based services we supply.
The following Openreach products will therefore be withdrawn as part of WLR withdrawal:
WLR3 analogue
WLR3 ISDN2
WLR3 ISDN30
LLU SMPF
SLU SMPF                            Narrowband Line Share Classic

Quote from https://www.openreach.co.uk/cpportal/products/the-all-ip-programme/wlr-withdrawal

As @iniltous has said that as we all move to a digital based phone service, legacy services that shared the same line but from different providers, e.g landline phone service from one provider but the broadband from another over the same line is also being withdrawn and closed.

In this situation it's best to decide which provider will supply both the broadband and phone service.

Re: Landline with BT, ADSL with Sky - BT forcing cancellation of broadband

Kimberlin — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 21:25:27 GMT

@iniltous

I'm playing devils advocate here, but reading through @sia555 statement, it might appear that they may not have had any say in the service that was being provided. It seems it might have been their elderly father that held the cards and that the parent may well have not given the details of the contract status.

I'm just saying, your monologue might be seen as accusatory toward the OP if they had no control over the situation in the first instance. If the OP doesn't have PoA, then clearly they cannot do anything unless they get permission from the bill payer.

If I'm incorrect in my observations, I apologise in advance.

Re: Landline with BT, ADSL with Sky - BT forcing cancellation of broadband

iniltous — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 21:51:41 GMT

I’m not differentiating between the OP and the bill payer , I dare say some elderly parents are difficult to reason with (I’m in my 60’s , I dare say my kids may say that about me ) , the point I’m making is that BT did not remove Sky broadband, Sky removed their broadband as it were on an unsupported product that has reached the end of the ‘line’ ( pun intended)

I suppose its possible that the exchange the OP parent is connected to was never ‘unbundled’ by Sky to offer MPF (full LLU) in which case it’s entirely possible that Sky cannot offer its LLU broadband , hence the reason why they have pulled the plug , if they were in effect reselling BTw ADSL under their own brand name for the last decade or so ,and Sky and BTw will no longer have this as a product , in which case BT providing ADSL would be identical to what they have , albeit as SoTAP , assuming the OP assertion about not having fibre to the cabinet is true .

Re: Landline with BT, ADSL with Sky - BT forcing cancellation of broadband

Kimberlin — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 21:36:59 GMT

@iniltous

Yes, I get that, but you didn't really treat the situation with any obvious sensitivity. Just my two penneth.

Re: Landline with BT, ADSL with Sky - BT forcing cancellation of broadband

iniltous — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 11:32:59 GMT

TBH , when a poster , in my opinion posts a rant , rather than a question , I don’t see the need for sensitivity, especially when it’s uninformed, if I misinterpret their intentions, then I may well appear boorish , but asking BT why Sky have ceased the customers broadband then posting here about how useless BT is , seems ridiculous to me

Re: Landline with BT, ADSL with Sky - BT forcing cancellation of broadband

sia555 — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 22:06:55 GMT

For clarity here are the results of a few checks on the exchange.

Don't appreciate some of these comments - we contacted BT before Christmas who told us they could cancel the broadband cease, Sky repeatedly told us the order was from BT when speaking to their 3rd party cease team 3 times and that they couldn't do anything.

At no point did anyone from Sky or BT explain that the phone/broadband would need to be with one or the other. If they had explained this maybe this would be less of an annoyed post.

Re: Landline with BT, ADSL with Sky - BT forcing cancellation of broadband

sia555 — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 22:14:05 GMT

Re: Landline with BT, ADSL with Sky - BT forcing cancellation of broadband

WSH — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 23:04:03 GMT

Unfortunately, the front-line help desk of both companies is pretty useless and often don’t know what they are talking about.

Have you posted this on the Sky forum? I’m an occasional poster there myself, so I know a lot of the regulars, and they are just as knowledgeable as the guys here. They may well be able to help you more in this particular case.

Personally, I would say if your father insists he wants to stay with Sky, your best bet is probably to get him to re-negotiate a new contract for “Sky broadband and Talk”* then get Sky to port the original phone number over from BT. Of course, that may need him to cancel the move to Digital Voice through BT first. The guys on the Sky forum may know the procedure better than here, as I’m sure this is not the first time this problem has come up.

(*"Sky Talk" is Sky’s equivalent of Digital Voice).

Re: Landline with BT, ADSL with Sky - BT forcing cancellation of broadband

chrisjp — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 23:08:23 GMT

Since, under OFCOM rules, you can sign up with a new broadband supplier and they will do everything needed to cancel your service with your existing supplier, it seems possible that BT DID initiate the termination of the OP's Sky broadband service.
In common with a lot of the issues we see on this forum, both BT and Sky have been woefully inadequate in keeping their customer informed about what is happening.
So, yes, iniltous, I do think your initial comment was a bit overly aggressive.

Re: Landline with BT, ADSL with Sky - BT forcing cancellation of broadband

iniltous — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 23:53:00 GMT

Sky LLU is available, so at some point in the distant past Sky will have made an offer to arrange the transfer the telephony from BT to Sky (a SMPF to MPF transfer ) that would have removed BT entirely from the equation, dialtone being provided from Sky equipment not BT’s , for whatever reason that offer was not taken , but surprisingly refusal didn’t result in Sky withdrawing the ‘off net’ non MPF LLU broadband which is what they claimed at the time would happen .

It does mean that both BT or Sky can offer a combined broadband and telephone service , it’s really a case of picking one or the other .

To the point that Sky said it was BT that raised the Sky broadband cease order , via some mythical 3rd party cease team is utter nonsense, the only way Sky could lose a customer without them driving that , is if BT requested a migration of broadband , and there is no evidence of that, what's more although the OP has said they received a Sky ‘ goodbye’ communication, there has been no corresponding ‘Hello’ communication from BT , hence it’s not a migration and BT have not had any involvement in Skys cessation ,that is entirely a result of Skys own actions , so unsurprisingly any request to BT to cancel a Sky order has failed , if BT said they could cancel that Sky order presumably they mistaking assumed a migration to BT was on file ( when it wasn’t )

If this were a ‘slamming’ type migration attempt (the only way BT could cease Sky service ) the current migration OTS system (one touch switching) given the date the OP has said this happened would be used and not the previous NoTs (notice of transfer ) system and OTS doesn’t have the cancel other providers orders function, plus neither system could automate customers with SMPF arrangements anyway , and the OP has never suggested BT were trying to ‘slam’ the customers broadband supplier from Sky to BT , all the OP has said is that Sky have stated they will stop providing broadband on a particular date .

As stated , pick a provider to deliver both services , shared metallic paths are no longer supported, you can’t have BT and Sky each billing for a single service on an Openreach connection, it may be a short term hassle , the financial benefit should more than compensate for that aggravation.

Re: Landline with BT, ADSL with Sky - BT forcing cancellation of broadband

sia555 — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 09:29:02 GMT

In my first post I stated BT sent a letter saying the landline was being upgraded. No mention of digital voice or that they would be stopping the Sky broadband. Shortly after this letter was received Sky then contacted us about the broadband being stopped.

There has been no communication regarding the need to have both services with one provider.

From memory sky never communicated about needing their landline service - maybe a fact that this is a legacy contract from when O2 were in the broadband market.

Not sure why you need to make snarky remarks about a mythical team - I've got the number if you'd like to phone them to see if they exist.

Re: Landline with BT, ADSL with Sky - BT forcing cancellation of broadband

iniltous — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 10:20:15 GMT

I’m not sure the value of going over the same ground , your SMPF service delivered telephony from BT over the PSTN (publicly switched telephone network) this is what’s being retired by Jan 2027 , no one can stay on PSTN , the BT replacement is called DV , Digital Voice .

If the letter you received had a date saying your telephone service will change on a particular date , that’s one thing, but if it were a general ‘information’ notice , then it’s nothing more than highlighting the change , and the need for it ….did the BT communication contain a date ?

BT sending this out and Sky arbitrarily removing your broadband are not linked , apart from both organisations need to act as deadlines are fast approaching , BT because PSTN is at end of life , and Sky because SMPF is a product that cannot exist in the modern world where everything is IP (internet protocol) including telephony.

BT didn’t switch off your Sky broadband, if your telephony is still working then (and it seems it is ) BT haven’t even touched your BT phone service yet…..Sky could and arguably should have contacted you and explained the situation and (as they did in the past ) ask you to make a choice , join them for telephony as well as broadband (obviously that’s their preference) or leave Sky broadband on this legacy SMPF arrangement.

If my point wasn’t clear , I’ll reiterate it , BT cannot cease your Sky service , that is impossible, imagine the communication,
BT , hello Sky we would like to cease your broadband,
Sky , OK , what’s the name on the account
BT , We don’t know
Sky , What’s the Sky broadband account number ?
BT , We don’t know
Sky , Are you acting for the account holder ?
BT , No
Sky , Get lost
if it were a migration (which is possible on other products but not SMPF ) then you would have received a ‘welcome’ notice , contract information etc from BT not just a generic ‘DV is coming , you need to be aware ‘ type communication which seems to be the case .
As it is , your entire point of view is based on Sky saying ‘it’s not us Governor, it’s them’ , regardless of you believing that or not , you need to to make a decision, you can’t go back to how it was , what’s more if you could , how could BT re-order broadband service for you from Sky ?
You obviously are at liberty to believe what you want to believe and if you want to believe BT can cancel your Sky broadband that’s upto you ….however if you want your broadband back you need to order it from someone.

Re: Landline with BT, ADSL with Sky - BT forcing cancellation of broadband

Kimberlin — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 10:24:57 GMT

@iniltous

You're very much correct, there's little point in you going over the same monologue. The OP should now be fully aware of the situation.

Hopefully, a Moderator will lock this thread soon because it's just repeating itself, that or move it to the Lounge where you can argue as much as you like.

Re: Landline with BT, ADSL with Sky - BT forcing cancellation of broadband

tonysmini018 — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:01:59 GMT

What I think has happened is that BT retail only had your phone on their systems and no note to say Sky shared the line, (BT Wholesale held that and it is a seperate arm of the group). When upgrading to DV it changes your line from PSTN to a SOTAP service that requires a broadband connection as the phone will plug in to a router to work.
When this happened, it’s inadvertently triggered the cease of the Sky BB service when the PSTN cease order was placed, there’s no longer a working landline for Sky to piggyback on and to be fair, they should have realised this when you called them. How you still had this BT/Sky set up amazes me as it should have been ceased years ago.

As said, now you/your father need to decide which provider to go with. Personally I would stick with BT as the swap to digital voice has stated so it should avoid any number porting issues.

Re: Landline with BT, ADSL with Sky - BT forcing cancellation of broadband

Jane2018 — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 18:33:34 GMT

If your father is now going to choose between BT and Sky (for broadband and landline) stick with BT as that won't involving porting the number over and losing a number he may have used for years. It seems to go wrong quite a bit and people lose the number for ever if they try to move it to another provider.