Consumers can now get high-definition (HD) TV without having to sign up to cable or satellite for the first time following the launch of BBC and ITV’s Freesat service.

Freesat, which from last week became available to 98% of UK households through a satellite dish, offers up to 80 channels, including BBC HD, for a one-off fee of about £200. There will be no monthly subscription.

However, analysts were lukewarm on the offer because of the limited scope of the HD channels.

“All the BBC’s digital channels, including BBC HD, will now be available to all licence-fee payers wherever they live and however they choose to access them,” said BBC director-general Mark Thompson at the Freesat launch last week.

ITV HD will not be part of the initial Freesat programming line-up, but it is scheduled to arrive later in the year when around 200 channels will be available.

The move will challenge current HD providers which charge a premium for the higher-quality TV.

Virgin Media typically charges a one-off fee of £150 for a HD box as well as a connection fee of £75. There is a monthly subscription of £16, although this includes a telephone line.

Sky’s HD offer also costs £16 a month but there is a £429 set-up fee — £399 for the Sky HD box and a £30 set-up fee, according to the comparison firm Uswitch.

However, unlike Freesat and Virgin, Sky has its own HD sports and film channels.

Basic Freesat set-top boxes are likely to cost consumers £50, though that goes up to £120 for a HD-compatible box. Satellite-dish purchase and overall installation will cost another £80.

Those who already have a satellite dish may only need to fork out for the digital box, available at retailers including Currys, Argos and John Lewis.

Rob Barnes, the telecoms expert at the price-comparison site, Moneysupermarket, said: “With the current selection of HD channels, it’s not great value. Also, Sky and Virgin Media’s triple-bundle offerings start at £26 and include broadband and home-phone services.”

However, the Freesat box will provide “free-to-air” digital channels for the 18% of households, mostly in rural areas, which are currently unable to receive the service.

Free-to-air channels can be viewed via an analogue aerial using a set-top box costing about £15. There is no installation or subscription charge, and you get around 46 TV and 27 radio channels.

More households will be able to access free-to-air channels as the analogue signal is switched off. Full digital roll-out is expected by 2012.

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