Saorsat, the free-to-air satellite companion to Ireland’s DTT service Saorview, is slated to launch this February or March. Documents released by RTÉNL, the network’s division of the public broadcaster, said tests have been underway since December 2011. Saorsat will be carried on Eutelsat’s Ka-Sat at 9 degrees East. It is anticipated that suitable receivers will be available within the next few weeks. Around 1% and 2% of the Irish population will be unable to receive the terrestrial transmissions from Saorview. It also seems likely the transmissions will also be made available in Northern Ireland, while a joint UK and Irish Government project is currently examining the possibility of allowing the existing RTÉ and TG4 television services to be carried on part of the UK’s Freeview platform.
