Satellite installer - Advice needed !!!!,

Nollaig53

Hi Guys,
OK need some advice,
after years of working as a engineer for a cable company and doing many satellite installations and realignments on the side, I have decided to open my own shop.
I am moving to a small rural town and want to open a satellite and Aerial installation business,
I need advice on how to become a official Sky installer, aslo I have been looking to see if it is possible to be independent from sky but still be able to offer Sky installations to customers, is this possible??
Also if this is possible what is the procedure, some advice from someone who has been there and done that would be nice..

Thanks

dingding

You might also get work from some of the community broadband systems. Most of these are wireless and installation is similar to a sky dish. I know a local company that uses sky installers.

Nollaig53

Thanks but town has enabled broadband exchanges, don't think I would move there otherwise...

Anyone else have any advice for me as regarding providing a sky installation service...

Nollaig53

Thanks but town has enabled broadband exchanges, don't think I would move there otherwise...

Anyone else have any advice for me as regarding providing a sky installation service... is this a franchise from sky or are all installers employed by sky these days???

bigpaddy2004

Nollaig53 wrote:

Thanks but town has enabled broadband exchanges, don't think I would move there otherwise...

Anyone else have any advice for me as regarding providing a sky installation service... is this a franchise from sky or are all installers employed by sky these days???

I dont think Sky are in a position at the moment to give out any more ASA dealerships. Where are you from?

Nollaig53

would be north west donegal, huge waiting list there for sky at the moment, no local installer, how would I go about becoming an ASA.

bigpaddy2004

Nollaig53 wrote:

would be north west donegal, huge waiting list there for sky at the moment, no local installer, how would I go about becoming an ASA.

You would have to contact sky and someone there would give you the asa dealer hotline number, and if you do succeed expect to wait several months to have sky pay you for the install and the sky equipment, monks game!

Perhaps Tony or Byte could clarify but is there anything to stop this guy from just opening up shop and being an independent installer?
Is there an association that he could contact or a recommended certification?

TBH the best little Sky instalation service in my area is a one man operation who is flat out and he is in his late 60's or early 70's.
He's an independent.

watty

You don't even have to join anything... But having appropriate Insurance cover is a good idea, as is VAT / TAX registration. At least with those no-one can argue you arn't legitimate.

ah yeah.

I was just wondering if there was a satelite equivalent of RECI

Tony?

Tony

Sorry was very busy yesterday. There is the CAI who are Uk based , I was with them for two years but left as they never carried out any quality audits. Theres no equivalent organisation here unfortunately and there seems little interest in setting one up.

I would think long and hard before you apply to become a a sky ASA (email me and I'll give you the phone number) as their rates of payment were never great, they have not increased with inflation and it will take months to get paid. You may even find you dont get paid at all for some boxes from the flimsiest of reasons, bear in mind you have to pay full price up front for the equipment and you must be VAT registered.

Having said that I think you are in a great location as I'm not aware of any good installers/retailers in Donegal so on FTA you should do very well and I wish you the very best of luck, I believe the more competition we have the better it is for verybody involved with satellite in Ireland.

Nollaig53

Thanks for the advice guys,
Tony could you PM me that number please, I will look in to it anyway,
Tony by FTA are you talking about the British Fta/Ftv systems or the european systems, Do yo think there would be much call for European FTA. Was thinking of basing it around the Sky Astra platform,

watty

Polish people like Hotbird and often even want Cyfra+ pay TV. A lot of that in Limerick.

ricacho

it is a good idea to start with fta, the channel 4 will be also free starting from july, so there will be a lot of people buy fta for just channel 4.
See the translation of the free to air news in holland, and this site are almost never wrong.

The number of fta on the Astra2-positie (28 degrees easterly) goes again up. In July, the British film station FilmFour goes as a free-to-air station further. The channel sends each day six movies from between three hour çs noons and three hour çs nights. As a ftv station, FilmFour knew to reach only 300,000 subscribers; as a FTA-channel they will reach about 18 million viewers:D

Tony

Nollaig53 wrote:

Thanks for the advice guys,
Tony could you PM me that number please, I will look in to it anyway,
Tony by FTA are you talking about the British Fta/Ftv systems or the european systems, Do yo think there would be much call for European FTA. Was thinking of basing it around the Sky Astra platform,

as i said

(email me and I'll give you the phone number)

ricacho

the complete news from another site

[
1) You can't simply post an entire content of another site. Quote a paragraph and a link to the site.

2) Totally inappropriate to thread.

---
Watty.

P.S. Persistant Muppetry get a ban generally.
]

Sponge Bob

Nollaig53 wrote:

would be north west donegal, huge waiting list there for sky at the moment, no local installer, how would I go about becoming an ASA.

Historically there have been lots of dodgy deflectors in w donegal so if you start offering sky/freeview/freesat deals the operators ..who also install aerials and downconvertors for their own deflectors ...... would not be happy because you would adversely affect their repeat business

I would go into DSL and Wireless installation as well if I were based there, assuming you are familiar with CATv cabling, PoE etc.

watty

Are suggesting he bolt door well at night and carry a beagle?

Comreg ought to shut them down and remind the local politicians / activisits that there is nothing illegal about receiving BBC/ITV by FTA satellite, but that rebroadcasting is NOT ON LADS.

Lets stop calling them "Deflectors" and call them Transmitters of doubious legality.

Nollaig53

Sponge Bob wrote:

Historically there have been lots of dodgy deflectors in w donegal so if you start offering sky/freeview/freesat deals the operators ..who also install aerials and downconvertors for their own deflectors ...... would not be happy because you would adversely affect their repeat business

Yeah they are really poor quality there, have a lot of calls about poor receiption from people but there is very little an aerial can do to improve it at times as its the transmission thats the main problem, I have installed many "freesat" systems there (for friends) and the response has been amazing.

Sponge Bob wrote:

I would go into DSL and Wireless installation as well if I were based there, assuming you are familiar with CATv cabling, PoE etc.

Yeah would definately be offering that service too, it would also be a computer repair service, due to my IT backround

byte

Well, keep us updated on how you get on! Could be a handy advice thread for others considering doing the same in other areas in the country.

Have you talked to any suppliers yet? There are some suppliers (TDW and ATC) who have a guy drive aroudn the country, including Donegal, in lorries loaded with all sorts of supplies which is handy.

IN the meantime of course, you could get setup with FTA systems, with Polish TV being important nowadays. Actually, you'll probably even get requested for installs for EWTN which conveniently is now on Astra2.

Sponge Bob

Nollaig53 wrote:

Yeah they are really poor quality there, have a lot of calls about poor receiption from people but there is very little an aerial can do to improve it at times as its the transmission thats the main problem, I have installed many "freesat" systems there (for friends) and the response has been amazing.

Once people go freesat thats that , I personally put a house near Narin out of its deflector misery last year

lighthouse

ricacho wrote:

it is a good idea to start with fta, the channel 4 will be also free starting from july, so there will be a lot of people buy fta for just channel 4.

Does anybody know if this is true.Is channel 4 going fta in July.

watty

Probabily not. But no-one knows C4's plans apart from Film Four.

1) It isn't quite true that a FTA receiver is best starting point for everyone.

2) There is no evidence. It might happen, but is unlikely.

3) I think he got mixed up. C4's Film channel, FilmFour is changing from PayTV to FTV on Satellite (needs Sky UK £22 Freesat card sent to UK addresses only). FilmFour may be Free on Freeview then, the UK TERRESTRIAL (not satellite) Digital service.