Sky: There will be an M25 effect with 4G

Sky: There will be an M25 effect with 4G
Skay - talking about the information super highway

Super fast mobile broadband may be incoming but Sky doesn't reckon it will mean the end of Wi-Fi.

According to Mike Darcey, Chief Operating Officer, BSkyB, even when 4G lands in the UK - which is set for 2013/14 - the speedy mobile service will soon get clogged up with users and Wi-Fi will still be the key to offering decent web coverage on the go.

"We are trying to give our broadband customers free Wi-Fi across the country's hotspots and we are convinced that wireless technology is key going forward," explained Darcey.

"4G will be great but there will be an M25 effect. The traffic will build pretty quickly and Wi-Fi will still be needed and used by the public."

Head in The Cloud

Since Sky took over ownership of The Cloud it has been focusing more and more on offering its content over IPTV.

According to Darcey, this isn't a sign of massive changes for the company, though, as he believes it is the content that is key and not how you deliver it.

"We are labelled as a satellite broadcaster, but we are a bit more than that now.

A few years ago you would have found Sky channels on a Sky and cable box but now they are on PCs, Xbox, iOS devices and mobile phones.

Sky is seen by 32 million people each week and without the compelling programmes, you will struggle to sell the platforms and services.

"For all the technology we have done, it is really all about the twist and turns of the last game of the Premier League and the drama of Game Of Thrones.

"It is the power of content that makes the differences; the delivery is really just a means to the end."

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.