Not long ago, for a remarkably small amount of money, I bought an analogue satellite dish and receiver. It was just what I'd been looking for: no big films or sport, but loads of foreign public service broadcasting. I'd be able to watch German concerts, Albanian folk music, Greek news bulletins, you name it. No monthly subscription, either.
When I asked my local aerial fitter to set it up, I discovered why it was so cheap: most of the programmes I was interested in were on channels that had now moved to digital satellite, and could no longer be received on my analogue system. I should only pay to put the dish on the roof, said the fitter, if I was really interested in Albanian folk music, because that was probably all I'd be getting. What I needed, he said, was Sky. Everybody's getting Sky now, he assured me.
I took the brochures he offered, and quickly decided I didn't want Sky Satellite TV. Huge quantities of films and sport on tap - for almost forty quid a month - was a luxury that I couldn't afford and didn't want. Sky might be a very good option for many homes, but not for ours.
