Steve Wilson wrote:
some lines snipped
Reading the terms and conditions on the Sky website, it's actually a
condition that the box is kept connected to a phone line for the first
12 months. Why?
Thx Steve

It's only a contract condition if you order the subsidised Sky+ package (was
£199, now £249 plus £1 install) direct from Sky.
If you buy a retail Sky+ box from Dixons, Ebay etc you don't need a phone
connection.
As well as the interactive & box-office reasons already mentioned, Sky can
send a satellite order to a subsidised Sky+ box to "phone home". They can
validate the CLI and disable the box if it doesn't respond or has been moved
to a different address.

uk.media.tv.sky and uk.tech.tv.sky are better places for further questions.
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Laurie R