Satellite TV is available almost any place that has a clear line of sight to the southern horizon. If a very small satellite dish can be fastened on a roof or wall without interfering trees, buildings, cliffs, etc., service is probably available. Satellite TV service providers usually charge nothing to walk around your roof or yard to test satellite signal reception.

Satellite TV Options Compared to Cable and Fiber Optic Service

Unlike cable and fiber optic TV services, satellite TV options have at least two providers--DirecTV and Dish Network--nationwide. Such competition helps keep prices stable and affordable. But since cable and fiber optic services require the physical laying of lines in the ground, they're available mostly in densely populated cities and towns. Outlying areas with widely scattered homes seldom have cable or fiber optic services. The physical costs and lack of competition has, at least in the case of cable, tended to drive up the price of service.

Fiber optic does have an advantage in delivering a large percentage of programing in High Definition TV (HDTV) format, as well as very bright, sharp images. And in-the-ground services are less prone to weather interruptions. But digital satellite TV has an ever-increasing percentage of HDTV programming. If this is important to you, ask local provider about that aspect of their satellite TV options.

All TV services offer "bundles" of programming at various price levels. These bundles usually include local channels. All types of service offer "pay per view" movies to download. Some offer interactive connections with social media and your computer. Most now will provide an easy to use DVR recorder for recording and playing back programming.

There's a world of entertaining and informative programming out there. Join the fun!