Several weeks ago a customer called with a question I was unable to answer at the time.   He has cable TV at his home, through AT&T which also provide phone and internet service in a package deal.  He has a vacation cabin where he has Dish Network satellite TV on a part-time basis.  He pays a minimum fee, about $10 a month, when he is not using the service.  When he is at the cabin, he activates the service and pays the full, monthly rate.  At this time he has a standard TV system, not HDTV.   When he inquired about upgrading to HDTV they said they would not allow the part-time program to continue and he would need to pay full price each month.  He also had trouble dealing with the Customer Service person at Dish Network who was not very helpful.  He called me to see if I could add any suggestions to the solution.

In reading the on-line forums about the Customer Service departments at these providers, I learned that calling one is a lot like fishing - sometimes you get lucky - sometimes you come up empty handed.  The minute you suggest using a satellite dish in an RV, it's like you are speaking a foreign language.  DirecTV even has a program for RVers (which the Customer Service person knew nothing about).  However, she did give me some helpful advice - She suggested I call one of the local installers in my area for information on programming options.  That turned out to be very good advice.

I spoke with Lori Merino at Shadow Creek Satellites here in Grants Pass, Oregon.   Shadow Creek Satellites represents both Dish Network and DirecTV for satellite TV service and Wild Blue and Clearwire for Internet service.  I explained my customer's situation to her and she immediately provided a solution.  When the customer wanted to upgrade to HDTV, Dish Network would be supplying the new equipment for free - however nothing is free in the real world.  He would be committing to a 2 year contract requiring him to pay full monthly charges for 24 months to off-set the cost of the new equipment. 

However, if he purchased the equipment out-right he would not be committing to a contract; therefore he would be able to keep the part-time arrangement with Dish Network.  While there would be some financial outlay for the new equipment, it would be less than the monthly cost of satellite TV when you are not watching it.

Another option - would be to use FTA (Free To Air).  FTA allows you to receive unencrypted satellite TV signals on a special receiver and dish.  It is not as easy to use as watching paid programming via Dish Network or DirecTV but might be a viable alternative for someone who just needs satellite TV a few weeks out of the year, when they use their RV.  You can get further information on FTA by clicking here or plugging "FTA TV" into your search engine.

We do have accounts with suppliers of FTA equipment and can supply further information about what is available upon request.  Email george@tv4rv.com and I will be happy to help.

                                                                             ~~~~~~