Freeview in council blocks and properties

[m419]

Communal council buildings which have a communal aerial are being altered. Apparently some local councils like mine are removing the aerial and replacing it with a communal satellite dish, 'just so that residents can tune into foreign language channels'.

We recieved a letter stating that standard Freeview Analogue and Digital users in the block would need to subscribe to Cable(Virgin Media) or get Freesat,Sky or satellite service.

So that means people that have purchased Freeview boxes won't be able to use them in future and guess what you are not entitled to a refund.

I think this is a disgrace, we are in the United Kingdom of which the national launguages are English,Welsh and Alba. We spend so much money on upgrading equipment that is not of any use to 95% of the residents. Only 6 out of 50 flats subscribe to Sky and only 1 has a satellite dish for recieving foreign language channels. Everyone else uses the Virgin Media and the Freeview aerial.

Furthermore, even if you don't want to use the communal IRS system,you will still need to pay the service charges to the council every month to cover the cost of installation and maintainance.

This is exactly why Cable was introduced to the area to offer better reception,offer multi-lingual channels and offer interactive services and still does,its also communal system.

Older people are being messed around as well, they have been told to get a freeview box in order to recieve Digital TV,they got that.fair enough, but now they will need to get a freesat box, too many changes and its making it difficult for older people to adapt.

I think the council should not attempt to bring down the aerial and should keep things the way they are. And spend money on more important services like housing repairs,something that Camden council fails badly on!

[v0id]

The council have already added huge communal satelite dishes onto the two story flats on my estate as well as adding huge communal aerials.
They've been up about year now.

[altis]

I suggest you enquire into exactly what is happening.

If they are doing this properly, there should be no reason why they cannot distribute both the terrestrial signal (analogue and Freeview) as well as the satellite signals (Sly and Freesat) down the same cable.

[nodrogd]

All our council flats have Sat, Freeview, DAB & FM, + the option of cable

[m419]

Well there exact words say they are replacing the communal aerial with a satellite dish,one block has been wired up with these brown cables ready for it.

Why don't they just leave it as it is and let people install there own dishes as and when, as I said not everyone wants it!

One area where the probably should install a IRS system is Westminster! There they have no aerials and they are not allowed dishes and they have to put up with BT's Cable network which is leased by Virgin Media and is only Analogue, some parts of the borough can now recieve Broadband, however, I'm lucky to live just over the border of Westminster and is an ex-Telewest area which means all Virgin Media services are available.

But what I also find odd, the Virgin Media headquaters is just down the road from me in the borough of westminster which is covered by that prehistoric BT Cable network,you'd a thought Telewest/flextech would have chose premises inside the coverage area, and you walk around the corner down a few streets and guess what your at the foot of the BT tower and BT say the maximum Broadband speed for that area is 2MB, you'd think it would be at least 8MB.