Sky Unveils Broadband Package

LONDON, July 18: Over the next three years, BSkyB is going
to invest £400 million into its new broadband offering unveiled today, with the
platform’s 8 million subscribers set to receive the base high-speed Internet
package for free.

Unveiling Sky Broadband today, the company noted that it
would use online advertising, search functions and content offerings to recoup
that investment. Broadband is expected to begin contributing to the company’s
profit in 2010.

Chief executive James
Murdoch commented, "Sky Broadband is a compelling product which
rewards our 8 million customers with a quality service offering flexibility and
great value. Sky is ideally equipped to enter the large and growing markets of
broadband and telephony and by pushing the boundaries of the home entertainment
market, we will help our customers realize the full potential from
technological convergence. The business case is clear; we believe our
investment will enhance top-line growth, be earnings enhancing from 2010 and
with the benefits of scale, deliver increasingly attractive returns thereafter
whilst offering substantial savings and compelling value to customers. This is
a transformational new initiative for Sky.”

The platform is offering three broadband packages: Sky
Broadband Base, Mid and Max. Sky Base is the free service offering download
speeds of up to 2 Mb and 2GB monthly usage. Mid costs £5 with download speeds
of 8 Mb and 50 GB of usage. Max users will pay £10 a month for speeds of up to
16 Mb, unlimited downloads and free installation.

Sky’s network already covers 28 percent of households
including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Sky expects it
will pass more homes than the entire cable industry by early next year,
reaching 70 percent of all U.K. households by the end of 2007.