Hi Val
Here's the latest post on the Facebook page of my satellite man, John Sidwell of BigDishSat based in the Limousin.
"The new Astra 2F satellite was successfully launched last night and it will now slowly make its way to 28.2° where it will join the other satellites beaming Freesat, Sky and FTA to the UK.
This new satellite is the first of three which have the ability to focus tightly on to the UK and are rumoured to have less of an overspill into Europe. Here in France, and elsewhere, we rely on that overspill so that we can watch our UK telly and listen to The Archers.
Astra 2F will probably be replacing the satellite that was hurriedly deployed to replace the ailing Astra 2D. Nobody knows what effect the new satellite will have until testing starts in a couple of weeks time. The best guess is that there will be no or little change to us here in mainland France but those living in southern Spain may have cause to be worried."
BigDishSat now concentrates on satellite broadband installations, so it's not a case of a satellite TV installer playing down the possible impact on his business. Indeed, if it turns out we all need bigger dishes to carry on receiving British satellite TV, firms like this will be run off their feet next year. After me in the queue...
Chris
