Updated: BSkyB later confirmed to Dow Jones it’s at least thinking about it:  “We’re now examining options to broaden access to the benefits and value that we can provide. However, no plans are confirmed at this time.”

Original post: So much for bundling. BSkyB (LON:BSY) is planning to launch a £10-a-month broadband service that drops the requirement to subscribe to the operator’s satellite TV package, according to website forums reported by FT.com and The Register. BSkyB launched Sky Broadband last year after buying up one of the UK’s oldest ISPs, Easynet, and has since embarked on an aggressive TV-telephony-broadband multi-play marketing strategy named “See, Speak, Surf”.

The new offering will be called Picnic broadband and will come bundled with a WiFi router; several domain names have already been reserved for the operation, according to members of the Sky Users forum. BSkyB is the UK’s sixth-place broadband provider, behind BT, Virgin Media, Carphone Warehouse/AOL, Tiscali and Orange (see Seeking Alpha’s breakdown) but growing fast. FT.com: “For the three months to June 30, it reported a 56 per cent jump in broadband subscriber numbers to 716,000 – outstripping growth at BT (LON:BT.A), Carphone Warehouse (LON:CPW) and Virgin Media (Nasdaq: VMED) – and 48 per cent growth in Sky Talk subscribers to 526,000.”

Is bundling over? Most operators now offer multiple services and, while last year there was a land grab to lock customers in to a single provider, some of those providers may now be relaxing a little to win customers for whom taking phone, internet and TV together is just a step too far. After all, it’s hard to convince those 10 million Freeview subscribers to take Sky Broadband because they’re quite happy paying no monthly subscription for TV. Cable operator Virgin Media is also due to offer ADSL broadband over Cable & Wireless’ network to the considerable number of customers outside of its cable-equipped areas. The land grab is not over yet.