I phoned foxtel yesterday to complain about a reoccurring problem with my iq2 box. One of the ‘solutions’ offered was a free upgrade to an iq3 proving I moved my service to Satellite (currently cable). I queried this solution as I don’t want a Satellite dish on my roof and I could see the financial sense. I was told all foxtel services are being moved from cable to satellite in the next five years as ‘the cables are needed for the NBN’. Somewhat stunned I am turning to this knowledgeable forum for information. Thanks.
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"
We are just beginning to implement our Satellite First program to convert our existing cable customers to a satellite connection. This is in preparation for the handover of the HFC cable network to the NBN, currently projected to be finished by 2023."
What more are you after? NBN have the cable network now. Nothing anyone can do. If the Govt. built us a proper NBN, this probably wouldn’t be an issue. 
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Their business model would not be so profitable if they couldn’t charge what the market would bear. So to keep their ship as tight as possible they remove any option of any other way to connect other than through their own preferred means which would have financial benefits to them. They lock in their market! Particularly as you probably pay for the connection you would then be more hesitant to drop the package completely (it is more likely a user would downgrade rather than disconnect entirely).
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I can understand why they are doing it.Many houses these days naturally do have a satellite They can put on most places on the roof if you want to hide it.I wouldn’t be to concerned about it.And you can get the free up-grade.I personally have not gone down the road of getting NBN through Foxtel as it’s a bit pricey but have heard it works great.Naturally that’s another reason why they want you to change over
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Tuning in late to this one.
My 5c - does that “upgrade” bring better ping times/latency and a larger data allowance?
Going from cable to satellite I’d doubt it
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I use Foxtel Play which delivers Foxtel via the Internet. We can watch their live TV type broadcasts or their on demand service. We can watch via our computers, our phones, our tablets, anything that we can install the app on, or on the TV via a Telstra TV box or our PS4. No need for any satellite dishes and it doesn’t require one of their encrypted set top boxes. A good NBN connection and an unlimited Internet plan is probably a good idea though.
I on a ‘try before you buy’ with the Satellite dish. I can only record a limited number of shows until ‘data full’ warning and then have to delete some of these shows. Also, the rewind option is limited.
Yeah sorry, in my mind I assumed internet, not pay tv.
I understand that all Foxtel cable customers are being moved to satellite by 2023 because their access to the HFC cable ends sometime that year. The cost of moving to satellite should be borne by Foxtel. The move to satellite will include an IQ4 STB - which is also 4K capable. The cost of this should also be borne by Foxtel.
We recently upgraded to an IQ4 STB and satellite dish online, for a one-time fee of $135. The transaction appeared to go smoothly and we even received an introductory email lauding the move to this setup and giving us a date for the installation of the dish - March 31st.
March 31st came and went without a peep from Foxtel. When we queried this we were told they were waiting for confirmation from us - yet this had not been mentioned before.
We decided not to proceed with the upgrade, opting to wait until the inevitable time arrives when they’ll no-doubt be contacting us.
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Welcome to the community @Michieux.
There are others who have decided to not continue with Foxtel or are looking at the options of streaming over the NBN. This of course depends on just which version of the NBN one has been provided. Or whether streaming multiple 4K movies simultaneously to a 5 bedroom house is what one desires. Is Foxtel satellite really that capable?
It’s also likely that Foxtel may need to offer more options over the NBN. It’s already walked away from Satellite once because the internet became the better option.
It looks like you have plenty of time to decide.
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Hi @Michieux,
If you have not noticed it yet, this topic might be interesting reading in the interim.
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After ignoring the multiple letters from Foxtel and the annoying popups on my TV I have at last decided to look more closely at the impending closure of the HFC cable network and the replacement of my set-top box. It appears that Foxtel have moved away from their initial plan to move everyone to a satellite service and are now pushing an NBN solution.
Having looked their proposed solution of an iQ5 STB it appears to be a retrograde step for the following reasons.
- No FTA channels means I have to install a TV antenna at my expense.
- The iQ5 STB can only record 1 FTA channel at a time.
- The extra data that will be required via my NBN service may require an upgrade to a more expensive Internet plan, once again, at my expense.
Its given me food for thought as to whether to continue the Foxtel subscription or cancel it.
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If you have NBN already I would suggest taking a BINGE subscription. It i basically Foxtel without the price. At its most basic level its $10/month and you get the usual stuff but also many (if not all) the live channels as well. Itss good value for Foxtel loyalists.
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One of the main reasons we have Foxtel is the ability to receive FTA channels due to the poor terrestrial reception in this area. If we go with Bing or one of the other streaming services we would need to erect a tall TV antenna mast to receive FTA.
If we stick with Foxtel we need to decide whether to go with their NBN or satellite solution.
You can get FTA over NBN. Its what I do.
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Yes, without needing Foxtel etc. One does need to create a free login/ account for each network, EG ABC/iView. Similar for SBS, and others. The process for registering may challenge some consumers as it may require the use of a second connected device to authenticate? Based on the observed response of others at home.
Two key requirements are a suitable NBN service with adequate data and a smart TV or internet connected device. Both our not so smart TV’s cope just.
Note:
For the NBN our latest monthly speeds on FW are marginal for some streaming, individual outcomes can vary. Assumes one is not making any other demands on the service at the same time. In our instance, 6-7 Mbps monthly average down in the peak evening hour/s. IE on about 50% of evenings speeds are slower and 50% of evenings a little faster.
Buffering has less of an impact on the experience when not watching live content. Otherwise ABC iView tends to down scale the quality as does SBS when maximum service speeds cannot be maintained.
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Your information is not correct, BINGE is a streaming service delivered via the internet. I switched over some months ago and am very glad I changed. The pricing options are for $10 per month (SD) with ads, $16 (HD) with NO ads and the premium tier $18 (HD) per month.
With BINGE you get the majority of the Foxtel content you want with the advantage of NO junk channels, NO home shopping, NO religious channels and you can get rid of those annoying ads if you pay the mid range $16 per month tier.
NOT convinced?, they have a 2 week free trial, so you can give them a fair go and see if BINGE has everything you normally watch on Foxtel and are happy with it.
All the free to air stations have streaming apps so you can view their live TV and on-demand content via the internet.
All you now need is a Smart TV or streaming device such as Apple TV or Chromecast and a decent internet connection.
My internet speed is 25mb per second on my NBN and have no problems streaming HD content, my data allowance is 500GB per month and I only use approximately 50% of that each month and it is used mainly for several hours of viewing the streaming services nightly and many hours of internet surfing per night.
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Thanks mark_m, I will test these apps for the FTA stations to see if that meets my needs.
Hi jputting and SueW
I will do the 2 week trail with Binge and see if they have the content, or similar, to what we normally watch on Foxtel.
Hi,
I am sure you will be happy with BINGE,.
I was a long term Foxtel subscriber and found that there was less content to watch after they started removing channels and NOT decreasing their prices to compensate us.
I have found everything I used to watch on Foxtel is available on BINGE and even if you choose the $16 ad free tier it is still much cheaper.
I have found the player is not as easy to use, but hopefully it will improve over time, the huge cost savings make it bearable.
The Foxtel Basics pack which you must have is $49.00, if you have the Platinum Foxtel pack with extras the costs are astronomical.
I admit to being a couch potato and very much enjoy watching my streaming services nightly.
For a total cost of $31.90 per month I get the following:
BINGE - ad free for $16
Netflix Basic $10.99(ad supported tier for $6.99 NOT available yet on Apple TV)
Amazon Prime $4.91(yearly plan $59, but price increasing to $79 mid year).
With all those streaming services I still save $17.10 per month compared to the price of the Foxtel Basics pack.
To add insult to injury Foxtel have announced other round of price increases.The price of the base packs (Essentials, Entertainment and Foxtel Plus) are increasing by $3 per month. The BYO Platinum HD package (in the Entertainment package structure) is also increasing by $2 per month. Platinum Plus will remain at $140 per month.
The folks at Foxtel still refuse to accept that expensive overpriced pay tv packages are dying and are still clinging to an outdated business model.
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