More Free-to-Air Digital Radio Stations on Satellite

17th May 2004

I have updated the bit rate table at the bottom of this page to include some of the more recent digital radio stations that have launched on digital satellite (DSat). There are now 83 digital radio stations on free-to-air (FTA) DSat, which means that for those that want the highest choice of stations DSat is by far the best option, because it has far more stations than on DAB anywhere in the UK.

And not to forget that the audio quality of the digital radio stations on satellite is far higher than on DAB due to the higher bit rates used on DSat.

There is, of course, a wide variety of TV channels on FTA DSat as well. For a full list of what you can get without a Sky subscription see this page.

A common mis-conception is that to receive the digital radio stations on satellite you have to have a Sky subscription. This is not the case, and free-to-air means just that: no Sky subscription or viewing card is required because these stations are not encrypted at all. For more information about free-to-air digital satellite see the Digital Satellite Radio page.

Another mis-conception surrounding digital satellite is that it is expensive to get a digital satellite system. This is not the case, and you can get complete digital satellite systems including dish with an LNB, digital satellite receiver and the bits required to hook everything together from as little as £89, which is about the same price as a DAB portable radio. Alternatively, Sky offer a non-subscription package where you pay £120 for installation and they provide the dish and receiver free of charge. The only requirement is that the receiver must be plugged into a phone socket so that the receiver can contact Sky by ringing an 0800 number in the early hours of the morning (it doesn't affect you using your phone in any way), and after 12 months you get to keep the receiver.

For more information on various digital satellite receivers and dishes see the Satellite Receivers page. And for advice on how to get the best audio quality from digital satellite receivers see the Audio Advice page.