SKY Sky

By Simon Zekaria

LONDON--Sky PLC (SKYAY) said Tuesday that more than 46,000 customers had pre-registered for its mobile service in the U.K.

SIM-only contracts will be offered at the start of December to existing Sky customers and those who have pre-registered, with a full launch due in 2017, the British media services group said. The offer will allow customers to roll over their unused data allowance.

Sky, which will use O2's wireless network, said it values the U.K. mobile market at 15 billion pounds ($18.7 billion). It will compete with mobile providers like Vodafone Group PLC, BT Group PLC and Liberty Global PLC's Virgin Media.

Analysts are split on whether Europe's biggest pay-television company by subscriber numbers is likely to succeed in the mobile space.

"Sky has got most of the infrastructure in place. It is good at cross selling," said Morgan Stanley analyst, Patrick Wellington.

Others say Sky could struggle financially from piggybacking on another operator's network.

"We think Sky mobile's economics are clearly inferior to those of network owners like EE," said Haitong analyst, John Karidis.

"O2's network remains markedly inferior to those of its three rivals," he added.

Write to Simon Zekaria at simon.zekaria@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 29, 2016 13:14 ET (18:14 GMT)

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