COUNSEL

Free to air TV Frustrated by the wait for Irish digital TV? Consumer Choice takes you through a free alternative. It’s not so long ago that most of us only without the subscription charges, there is contracted to Sky TV, although you can Useful websites had to pay the cost of the TV licence for another option. You can use a satellite still get them for free through a normal the privilege of getting a television dish to get free-to-air television from the TV aerial. If you don’t have an aerial, www.satellite.ie service. Needless to say, this usually UK. To get this you can buy either a installers can offer a complete system meant living in two-channel land (now generic brand satellite dish kit yourself comprising the satellite equipment plus a www.freesat.ie four) and often with a less than perfect from high street electronics store or even separate TV aerial for the Irish terrestrial www.digitaltelevision.ie picture quality if you were living in an a supermarket like Tesco or Dunnes channels. area with traditionally poor reception. Stores for around €100. Then, provided If you have a Sky subscription already, As long ago as 1999, there was the you are reasonably technically you may not be aware that even if you promise of a new free-to-air (FTA), multi- competent, you can tune a DIY satellite cancel your subscription after the channel and better quality television system to receive more than 200 channels minimum 12 months or so that you are service when the Government and RTE and radio stations. required to subscribe to the service, you announced plans for a 20-channel digital If you don’t fancy doing it yourself, get to keep your dish and Sky receiver terrestrial service to replace the current you can ask an installer, such as box. So if you do this, you can buy a FTA analogue one. However, over ten years Satellite.ie or Freesat.ie, to provide the receiver box to use with your existing Sky later we are still waiting, and could still equipment and install it for you for a equipment. be waiting for some time yet. once-off cost of just over €300, or for a fraction of that if you already have a Crucial caveat Pay TV satellite dish. However, there is one crucial caveat to be Over two thirds of the approximately Once installed, you can access more aware of. Before opting for a FTA satellite 1.46 million households in Ireland with than 130 channels without any rental system combined with a TV aerial for the a television have effectively given up fees whatsoever, including ITV 1, 2, 3 and Irish channels (if you don’t have one waiting and are now subscribers to a pay 4; BBC 1, 2, 3 and 4, Channel 5, Channel already), you should make sure you are digital TV service via satellite or cable. 4, E4, BBC News and loads more. These not living in an area where the existing The cost of such services has been rising channels are courtesy of UK-based Freesat analogue Irish TV aerial reception is poor. in recent times, although the basic digital television service, which transmits However, even if your analogue service is still fairly reasonable. You will the free-to-air services via satellite and is reception is poor, you may find the pay between €264-€300 a year for a basic operated by the BBC and ITV. quality will improve once RTE officially package from Sky or UPC (formerly launches its FTA “Saorview” digital NTL/Chorus). Things to remember terrestrial service. It is now widely One snag to the free-to-air option is that expected that this will happen sometime A free alternative the Irish channels are not available before the end of 2011. Until then the Report by cc If you want a multi-channel TV service through this service because they are wait continues. John Cradden

COUNSEL NOVEMBER 2010 consumer choice 361