Cable vs. Telecom Fiber Optic - Decision

If it is purely about TV, then you can of course do Sat. Simple and cheap.

It depends on the viewing habits. Until recently, I would have always tended towards Sat, but meanwhile I am almost only online and this is increasing. So always think about the LAN as well.

For us, satellite is not a last resort.

Just to clarify: It is about internet via satellite. Only for TV is that okay, but it can gladly be omitted with powerful internet.

As a poster creator, I can gladly share with you the result of our considerations:
- Only fiber optic FTTH offers you the full bandwidth into the house of over 1000 Mbit, the most future-proof internet; for cost reasons, we preferred to do without cable.
We ultimately decided on television over IP. This not only saves us from connecting cable or satellite entirely but also the electrical costs in the house for laying TV cables, etc. Every TV can be operated anywhere in the house, and we are "only" dependent on good internet. We see that in the fiber optic.
If the internet goes down, of course, everything would be gone. - But we can live with that!

take both. you don't know if Telekom really activates fiber optic at that location and neither do you know if in 5 years coaxial or even old DSL will not make the next quantum leap.

We did not want to rely on just one system. TV is therefore via SAT. That has worked perfectly for what feels like 30 years. Also in the new building again. Landline and internet via Fiber. Works here and is great. Disadvantage: Tied to Telekom. No one else can supply us here with it. Some 10-year contracts. Doesn’t matter. Additionally, Pay TV and streaming services via Apple TV Box. Also runs perfectly via WLAN. Costs 15,- euros p.m. extra including Apple Music.

You can see once again how different opinions can be.

For us, satellite is not a last resort.



You are right that costs only occur once (apart from some electricity costs for a possible multiswitch). And as far as repair costs are concerned, these are also very low.

Our current satellite system has been hanging here for 20 years and this year I had to replace the multiswitch (power supply defective, voltage regulator had also damaged it somewhat, possibly other components defective as well) as well as the two LNBs (Astra and Hotbird).

Material costs approx. 140 euros. If I had taken a cheaper multiswitch, it would have been only about 110 euros.

Just take a look at which channels the cable provider supplies that are interesting for you and how it looks with satellite.

Also, you should keep in mind that it can happen that a cable operator drops one or the other channel.

PS.

In the neighborhood, several people have switched from cable to satellite in recent years. I have talked to some of them and I always heard that cable is simply too expensive for them.

Thanks for all the answers. Now some light has been shed in the dark. For me, all the terminology would be new territory. Somehow, it has all passed me by so far, since we have had no problems with satellite.

In our new development area, Telekom is laying fiber optic cable with up to 1000 Mbit/s. So theoretically, IPTV or TV streaming would not be a problem. What kind of connection or speed does one need at least if, for example, TV is watched in 3 rooms and the internet is used at the same time on a smartphone? You still pay quite a high monthly price for 1000 Mbit/s.

We have said goodbye to cable. We are simply scared off by the monthly costs here, which will be incurred for a lifetime.

Therefore, we will first decide on satellite. We are curious what the fun will cost via the electrician. But presumably, the costs will have paid off in about 3-5 years compared to cable or IPTV. Of course, there will also be maintenance costs over the years. But the costs are manageable here. We mostly watch classic TV and only 20% Netflix. Therefore, TV via streaming is still somewhat far for us.
Later, we can still switch to IPTV (Telekom) or TV streaming (Zattoo, waipu, etc.).