A year's free up to 38Mb broadband with Sky

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But the deal has its limits - it's only the capped version of their up to 38Mb fibre that's being offered free for 12 months, which offers customers 25GB of data each month.

Those looking for an unlimited fibre connection don't have to miss out completely, as Sky are also offering their Fibre Unlimited package at half price for the first year - that is, for £10 a month instead of £20.

And, following the launch of Sky Q earlier in the year, it's now possible for people who don't have or want Sky Q to get their hands on one of the new Sky Q broadband hubs as well.

The offers

For those who aren't interested in getting one of Sky's TV deals alongside their broadband, the standard deal comes with a further sweetener in the form of a £100 M&S e-voucher.

As getting Sky's broadband relies on taking their phone line as well, it's worth checking whether or not the £20 line connection fee will apply - anyone with a BT-compatible line should be fine.

Bear in mind that unlike their main rivals, Sky don't offer a discounted upfront line rental option to bring the equivalent monthly cost down a little further.

Also worth remembering is that there are no calls included. The cheapest bundle - evening and weekend calls to UK landlines, mobiles, and 0845 and 0870 numbers - costs an extra £4 a month.

New Sky broadband customers looking at the fibre deals will also need to consider activation fees of £35, and everyone needs to pay postage and packing of £6.95 for their new broadband hub.

Adding a Sky Q hub

We mentioned above that it's now possible for people who don't have Sky Q to get the provider's new broadband hub - but it comes at an added cost.

Customers who want one should scroll down the page when they get to the "personalise your selection" page until they reach "Broadband and Talk extras".

The newer Sky Q hub will be listed for £99 - but selecting it will add a one-off cost of just £20 to their order.

Although it has fewer ports for wired connections than the old Sky Broadband hub - two versus four - the Sky Q hub can at least cope with wired connections of up to 1Gb, compared to the 100Mb supported by the older hub.

Crucially for Sky Q's "Fluid Viewing" experience, it also provides much better support for wireless activity.

For one thing, it includes dual band wireless. This is pretty much standard among the routers provided by most ISPs these days, yet the old Sky hub only provides connections over the slower 2.4Ghz frequency.

For Sky Q subscribers, that should mean marginally smoother streaming from the main Sky Q box to a tablet or Mini box.

But for broadband-only customers it'll mean less congestion over the household wi-fi as newer devices can make use of the 5Ghz frequency while older kit uses the 2.4Ghz connection.