ᐅ Is a Satellite System Still Necessary for New Builds, or Is IPTV Sufficient?

Although we have an older building that we renovated, we also had a satellite dish installed, even though we mostly use streaming services. Occasionally, we still watch traditional TV, so we have not regretted spending the money.

In the living room, we have IPTV from Teleklem, while all other rooms (study, kitchen, both children’s bedrooms, master bedroom) have satellite connections.

So, we are using a dual approach. Considering the total house construction costs, the 800 euros for a satellite system are negligible.

We are currently planning without a satellite system and using IPTV instead. Although the telecom company does not provide infrastructure to our development area, we will get a fiber optic connection from a regional provider. We can already book a TV connection HERE. We have also considered Giga TV as an alternative, as well as Zattoo or our own KODI box (Raspberry Pi) with LibreELEC, giving us plenty of options. Furthermore, 5G will be available everywhere within the next 2 to 5 years, which will also make IPTV feasible.

We have fiber to the home from the telecom provider, meaning the fiber optic cable runs all the way to our utility room. However, I’m still glad we have satellite, because strangely about once a month the internet is disrupted—sometimes for just two to three minutes, sometimes for over an hour. Occasionally, restarting the router fixes it. Satellite, on the other hand, works reliably except during heavy rain or snowstorms.

The decision is not just a matter of bandwidth.
Other factors include:
- the range of internationally proxy-free accessible channels
- watching TV without a "Smart TV" and the associated data tracking
- proven connection stability

We decided to do without satellite TV. It was a bit of a challenge since we were breaking away from familiar habits, but we don’t miss it at all. TV comes via Zattoo or another app of choice. It works everywhere, and the picture quality is good. Nowadays, services like Entertain and Vodafone IPTV are also available without having a connection from them, meaning the market is becoming more open. Very nice.

That said, we also watch very little linear TV. Sky and similar services are not really relevant for us, but they are also available via apps nowadays. We have never experienced outages. We use fiber optic from a regional provider who could also offer their own IPTV, but that would be more expensive and offer fewer features than Zattoo, waipu, and the like.