Free to Air | FTA

FTA - Free to Air Satellite

Free to Air Satellite refers to a certain type of satellite broadcasting. Everyone in the US understands pay per view TV but very few understand FTA Satellite. DIRECTV and Dish Network gained great popularity because they had stationary satellite systems with small dishes. They also had something called "encryption" to prevent signal theft.

With FTA satellite there is no "Encryption". Dishes are not 18 inches, but rather 30 inches. Free to Air is not as popular because it's more complex requiring a rotator for best channel selection. You do not have premium channels like HBO or Cinemax. Optimum performance is realized by using a 30 inch dish with a rotator to pick up 20 to 30 receivers in your viewing arc.