If you are a Sky pay TV satellite customer or use a satellite dish to access Freeview channels, there’s a lot riding on a big technical change coming in the New Year.
The Optus D2 satellite, one of the key satellites serving up satellite TV services to New Zealand, is coming to the end of its life and Optus is planning to decommission it by May 2025. Launched in 2007, Optus D2 (located at 160 degrees east) has been a work horse in the Optus fleet for more than 16 years.
It is now carrying seriously dated technology and is running out of the fuel used to keep it in geostationary orbit and perfectly aligned to connect to hundreds of thousands of satellite dishes pointed skywards on building roofs.
There’s a lot riding on getting the migration done correctly. Sky TV reported recently that it had 479,000 Sky Box customers receiving Sky’s channels via satellite. Freeview’s satellite service is also delivered via the Optus D2 satellite, so its services will also be affected. It’s hard to know exactly how many Freeview satellite users are out there, but it could be as many as 50,000-100,000.
Satellites don’t last forever and Sky TV has handled satellite migrations successfully before. In theory, as long as the satellite operator positions a replacement satellite in the exact position as the previous one, all of the satellite dishes pointing at it should pick up the TV signals being broadcast across the South Pacific. Some rescanning of channels on the set-top box may be required to reprogramme the channels.
But there’s a complication with the Optus D2 decommissioning.
Optus had intended to replace the satellite with the Optus 11, a new, state-of-the-art satellite that was scheduled to be launched this year. However, manufacturing delays mean Optus 11 now won’t be ready for launch before 2027, and possibly later.
It means that Optus has to find a replacement satellite to handle the services provided by Optus D2 and, a couple of years later, transition to the Optus 11 satellite that will supply services for the following decade.
Sky TV says that Optus has offered it two “satellite path options” to ensure services continue as normal. A backup option involves a slightly different satellite position - 156 degrees east. This will involve shifting one of its other four existing satellites into place. It’s a delicate dance in space that has inherent technology and logistical risk associated with it. Then there’s the possible requirement for on-the-ground technology updates to satellite set-top boxes.
Many Sky TV satellite customers have already been contacted by Sky about undertaking testing to prepare for the switchover. For the newer white Sky Box or black Sky Box that are internet-enabled, Sky is testing in the small hours of the morning to determine whether the box and satellite dish will connect to the new satellite.
With hundreds of thousands of people depending on satellite for TV access, particularly in rural areas, there’s a lot riding on the Optus satellite changes coming during summer or autumn.
“After we’ve tuned to Channel 888, we’ll switch your box back to our Sky Open channel,” Sky TV advises.
“If that’s what you see when you next turn on your TV and Sky service, it means the test was successful and your box is good to go for now. There’s a small chance you’ll see a black ‘No signal’ screen instead. It means your box isn’t yet ready for satellite switch, but don’t worry – we’ll be in touch to go through your options,” it adds.
For the older, large black Sky Box devices, customers will need to complete a manual signal test. The best-case scenario is that most customers are able to simply switch to the new satellite with uninterrupted viewing. But Sky has flagged that a minority of customers may require a visit from a technician.
“We might need to access your property to adjust or update the antenna (known as an LNB) to correctly pick up a signal from a new satellite. Completing a channel test if we ask you to do so will help us understand if we need to visit your property,” Sky points out.
A very similar process will need to take place for Freeview satellite customers, too, but the free-to-air broadcaster is yet to issue any instructions to its users.
What’s your TV viewing plan B?
Satellite is a reliable way to receive TV services anywhere in the country. The only downsides are the need to put up and maintain a satellite dish, and the occasional bout of rain fade interrupting the satellite signal.
But the reality is that the internet is becoming the primary way many Kiwis are accessing Sky’s pay TV services. To try to minimise any disruption, Sky TV is speeding up the rollout of its new internet-connected Sky Box and IP-only Sky Pod.
Access to the Sky Go companion app for all Sky Box customers provides an additional way to access content, should the satellite switchover go awry. Now may be the time to upgrade your older Sky satellite box for a new internet-enabled Sky Box, which is really a no-brainer if you have a decent broadband connection.
Freeview users also have some back-up options. The Freeview streaming app is available on a wide range of late-model smart TVs – it’s the primary way I watch One News every night. But you also have the option of using a UHF terrestrial aerial to access Freeview, which gives you better screen quality than connecting via satellite.
When Optus 11 is finally in place, the company claims it will be a “game-changing” satellite because it is fully configurable in space. This means its location, coverage, bandwidth and capacity can be changed in orbit as customer demands evolve – where traditional satellites are limited by on-ground configurations that cannot be altered after launch.
It’s unclear whether Optus 11 will offer any major quality improvements for TV viewers, such as providing 4K resolution content. But it will apparently have the ability to enhance the “accuracy and precision of existing global positioning systems (GPS) across Australia and New Zealand and “pinpoint a location to within a decimetre, without the need for mobile or internet coverage”.
Optus is wearing most of the costs associated with migrating Sky TV operators, though the pay TV operator has put in place a $20 million contingency to cover any additional costs associated with the migration - such as having to make visits to homes and businesses to adjust satellite dishes.
It’s still unclear what costs Freeview and its customers might face as a result of the switchover.
With hundreds of thousands of people depending on satellite for TV access, particularly in rural areas, there’s a lot riding on the Optus satellite changes coming during summer or autumn.
