BBC Freesat was launched in May 2008 with the aim of giving as complete a coverage of digital television signals in the UK as possible. This service is available from the same satellite that Sky uses for its broadcasts.

Based on the similar service Freeview, available on terrestial digital signals, it is free of subscription and you only need to purchase a satellite reception box, if you already have a satellite dish installed. A word of caution though, if your satellite dish has been out of service for any length of time it would be wise to have it replaced or checked to ensure proper reception of the BBC Freesat service. The one difference between the terrestial service Freeview and BBC Freesat is that the BBC Freesat service includes HD channels which are not scheduled to start transmitting nationwide on Freeview until 2012.

The other big difference is that retailers of the set top boxes have to ensure that only approved installers are used for the installation of the equipment. These installers have to be registered members of RDI or CAI, which are organisations that oversee the work of installers of television reception systems. As members of both of these organisation we can offer our services both as retailers and installers for the BBC Freesat service.

At this moment in time there are only a small number of manufacturers of the boxes recommended for the service, we can supply the following:

Grundig SD £69.95

Grundig HD £169.95

Humax HD £169.95

The installation will cost £80.00 which is a one off fee, unless you already have a satellite dish installed in which case see word of caution above.