Original article ISPreview UK:Read More
Customers of Sky’s sibling NOW Broadband (NOW TV) ISP sub-brand, specifically those on their older “part-fibre” (FTTC) based superfast broadband packages, have been informed that their bundled Hubs (routers) are now unsupported and won’t be replaced if they develop a fault. But don’t “worry“, say NOW, because if that happens your service can be terminated or moved to Sky.
Sky Broadband itself has, thus far, been doing a modestly good job of offering upgrades to customers with bundled broadband routers that may have reached End of Life (EOL). This largely reflects recent changes in UK law, which requires ISPs to be more security conscious and “open with consumers on the minimum time they can expect to receive important security updates” for their smart / connected devices.
However, it appears as if NOW TV are taking a different approach for customers on their older own-brand NOW Broadband FTTC plans. This is seemingly focused upon those who are currently or will soon be in the process of considering whether to re-contract when their current package term comes to an end.
The problem is that this effectively seems to leave many existing NOW Broadband customers, at least those who want to use a secure and supported router, with little option but to either leave the ISP or switch to a package powered by Sky Broadband instead (something they’ve been offering, mostly via FTTP lines, since last year).
Extract from NOW TV’s Customer Email
Changes from March 2025
Please note, your Hub is no longer receiving security and service updates, or will stop receiving security updates by 2025. However, your Hub will continue to work as normal and will keep you connected to the internet.
We recommend, as a minimum, changing your Hub admin password to reduce the risk of security threats. This won’t change your WiFi password, just the password used to check your Hub details … From July 31st 2025, should your Hub develop a fault, we unfortunately won’t be able to provide a replacement. If this happens, don’t worry, you’ll be able to end your service immediately without any termination fees.
Most people will quickly note that changing the Hub’s admin password is not a panacea for all network and internet security related threats that users of unsupported NOW Hubs may face in the future. Likewise, telling customers not to “worry” because NOW TV still leaves them with the option of a free service termination, is far from ideal. Hopefully, those who want to exit their contract early don’t suddenly start dropping older hubs in the sink – totally by accident, of course.
The final option that NOW TV offers, if retaining unsupported kit or service termination are not palatable, is to switch to one of their more recent ‘NOW Powered by Sky‘ broadband packages. The newer packages started to be introduced last year, and at the time many people felt this had signalled the start of NOW Broadband’s gradual demise as a semi-independent broadband brand. The latest development may reinforce that perception.