Sky Business Broadband Essential 500 £32.95 p/m with £50 Gift Card

Dan Howdle • September 29th, 2025

Get a £50 Gift Card with Sky Business Broadband Essential 500

The Broadband Essential 500 package is designed for small businesses that need more than just a fast connection. With average download speeds of 500Mbps, it’s quick enough to keep video calls smooth, cloud apps responsive, and multiple employees online at once without slowdowns if you're working with a group in a small office. Upload speeds aren't symmetrical with Sky Business Broadband, and not stated by Sky, but they do give a range (around 58—61Mbps). It is plenty for video conferencing but if you upload a lot of large files you may need to consider something a bit quicker.

At £32.95 per month on a 24-month contract, the package also comes with extras you won’t find on Sky’s residential deals. Dedicated guest Wi-Fi, built-in security tools, 24/7 support and a fixed price guarantee through 2025 and 2026 all come as standard. On top of that, new customers who order online can claim a £50 Gift Card, making the move to Sky Business that little bit sweeter.

How do I claim my £50 Gift Card?

The £50 Gift Card with Sky Business Broadband Essential 500 isn’t automatically granted – instead, you’ll need to follow Sky’s reward process once you're up and running. After you sign up online, your purchase is tracked by Giftcloud, and a rather gruelling 120 days later you’ll be emailed instructions on how to choose your gift card. You’ll then have 90 days to claim it, with options including Amazon, M&S, John Lewis, Tesco, and more.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Sign up for Sky Business Broadband Essential 500 online using this link
• Complete your installation and keep your account active
• Wait up to 120 days for an email from Giftcloud with instructions
• Choose your £50 Gift Card and claim it within 90 days of receiving the email

The voucher can’t be taken as cash, and if you cancel before your service goes live you won’t qualify. It’s not instant – the wait is a little longer than with some providers – but it’s a guaranteed extra £50 to spend pretty much where you like, provided you jump through all the hoops.

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Why Sky Business Broadband Essential 500 is worth your money

Sky’s Broadband Essential 500 is priced at £32.95 per month on a 24-month contract, which makes it a little more expensive than consumer broadband at the same speed. But this is a business package, so what you’re paying for isn’t just the 500Mbps average download speed and a home router, it’s also the reliability and support you only get with a business broadband deal, that are vital when your internet connection is vital to your income.

One standout is the 24/7 support line. Unlike residential packages where help is limited to office hours, Sky Business gives you round-the-clock access to a UK-based team, so if something goes wrong at 2am, you can still get assistance. The package also includes a dedicated Guest WiFi network, which is a simple but valuable feature if you have visitors, clients, or customers on-site – they get fast, separate internet access without risking the security of the rest of your business network.

Sky also provides built-in security features as standard. That includes protections against common online threats, helping to safeguard both your staff and your data without having to pay extra for third-party software. And with the fixed price guarantee covering both 2025 and 2026, you know your costs won’t suddenly rise during the contract period. It's a rare reassurance when most providers hike prices every spring, even with business broadband.

Put all that together, and it means you’re not just getting fast broadband, but a package designed with your business needs in mind: stable speeds, professional support at any hour, better security, and predictable bills. For small businesses that can’t afford downtime, it's a no-brainer.

Enough broadband speed for most businesses

Sky’s Broadband Essential 500 offers average download speeds of 500Mbps, paired with decent enough upload performance. For small and medium-sized businesses, it's a pretty comfortable spot – enough to run multiple video calls, cloud-based applications, and large file transfers all at the same time without noticeable slowing.

500Mbps is probably a bit more than you need if we're talking consumer broadband packages, but for modern businesses, even those at home, it makes perfect sense. Cloud backups finish relatively quickly, large documents and design files can be downloaded in minutes, and video conferencing platforms like Teams or Zoom stay smooth even when several employees are connected at once. The upload speed is probably the only achilles heel here – we'd like to see Sky Business offering symmetrical speeds for businesses and hope it has future plans to offer that.

Of course, not every business will need this much speed – a sole trader working mostly on email, for example, may not touch it. And some will need more. But for teams of three to seven, or businesses that lean heavily on cloud services, 500Mbps is a decent amount of headroom.

For more information, see our guide to getting broadband installed.

Router

For Sky Business Broadband Essential 500, you’ll receive the Sky WiFi 6 Broadband Hub. It’s designed for business use, offering better specs and support for more devices compared to some Sky residential routers.

This router is built to handle heavier loads typical in small offices – staff using cloud tools, video calls, file sharing, and multiple devices all running simultaneously. While it doesn’t form a mesh network by itself, you can pair it with Sky’s optional WiFi Max add-ons (pods) if coverage is weak in parts of your home or business premises.

Sky WiFi 6 Broadband Hub specs at a glance

In most small or home offices, the Sky Business WiFi 6 Hub will be more than adequate. If your premises are large or divided across several floors, you may need to use WiFi Max pods to boost signal to remote areas, though if that's the case you probably want to consider a meatier business package to begin with (I.E. one from a specialist provider serving medium to large businesses). And wired connections (via Gigabit LAN ports) remain the most reliable option if you're in a position to run wires throughout.

How installation works with Sky Business Essential 500

Because Sky Business runs over the Openreach network, installation depends on whether your home or business premises already has a Full Fibre connection. If there’s an existing Openreach Full Fibre socket you'll qualify for a self-install, with Sky posting out the Business Hub for you to plug in on your activation date. For new connections, an engineer visit is required.

In those cases, an Openreach engineer will bring a Full Fibre line from the nearest distribution point into your office or home workspace. That usually involves running a cable along an external wall and drilling a small entry hole to mount the Full Fibre socket inside. Once the line is in place, the engineer will set up the Sky Business Hub and confirm everything is working before leaving.

If you're switching from another provider Sky will manage the switch from your old provider under Ofcom’s One Touch Switching rules, so you won’t need to do any of the legwork yourself. Most installations are completed in a couple of hours, and Sky will provide an installation date when you order.

Zero upfront costs

Sky Business doesn’t add any installation or activation charges when you take out the Essential 500 package. The engineer visit, if you need one, is covered as part of the service, and the Sky Business Hub is included with free delivery. That means your first invoice only shows the monthly package cost – no surprise extras tacked on.

For small businesses and home offices, that simplicity matters. Cash flow is often tight, and avoiding a £30–£50 setup fee can make a difference when you’re getting a new service in place. With Sky, what you sign up for is exactly what you pay from day one, making it easier to budget and get connected without worrying about hidden upfront costs.

Why Sky Business is one of the best providers

Let's be clear: Sky Business broadband isn’t aimed at being the cheapest way to get broadband to your business – it’s about giving you the stability and support your business needs to stay online, and that comes at a little extra (though you could never consider this package expensive per se). The Broadband Essential 500 combines high-speed Full Fibre with business-grade features that you simply don’t get on a residential broadband deal. That includes a guaranteed fix time if something goes wrong, and dedicated 24/7 business support teams you can actually get hold of when you need them.

The hardware also reflects that business focus. The Sky Business Hub is designed to handle multiple users and devices, with Wi-Fi 6 support for faster Wi-Fi connections and better security features. For offices that rely on cloud apps, VoIP calls, video conferencing or large file transfers, that extra stability can make a real difference to over time.

What also sets Sky apart is its pricing approach. Sky Business Broadband contracts come with fixed monthly costs for the full 24 months, so you don’t get caught out by mid-contract price rises – something most home broadband packages can’t promise.

Put it all together and Sky Business is one of the best choices out there for small businesses as well as serious home workers. For more detail, see our Sky Business Broadband review.