WHAT IS FREE TO AIR(FTA)? : eBay Guides

FTA or "Free To Air" simply means that the
signal is not encrypted.  Most cable type programming is encrypted. 
Where did all of these FREE TO AIR receivers come from?  While the U.S.
and Canadian Cable industry distributes their programming largely via
products sold  by Motorola and a few others,  the rest of the world
chose the MPEG-2 format.  Granted, even though, the Motorola Digicipher
II has some MPEG-2 attributes, it nevertheless remains a totally
proprietary platform.  Who has chosen MPEG-2 as a platform? Dish
Network, Scientific Atlanta, and the rest of the world.  Even DirecTV is
a early version of MPEG-2.   MPEG-2 is a digital platform that allows
several digital broadcasts to be compressed onto one frequency or
channel.  Without MPEG-2, Digicipher, or other compression  platform, it
would not be possible to have direct broadcast television services like
DirecTV or Dish Network.  Equally important is the way the programmers
get the their product to their retail outlets such as DBS and cable. 
They too have chosen compressed digital transmissions largely due to
cost. PAX on GE-1 is an example of this.

      What does MPEG2-FTA mean? MPEG stands for Moving
Picture Experts Group.  It is a method for compressing data. FTA stands
for "Free to Air"- meaning that the signal is not encrypted with 
conditional access. .  Smart Cards or Conditional Access Modules,  are
generally used to decode scrambled signals.  In the U.S. there are a number of channels that
are available via MPEG-2 FTA receivers that have indicated that they
plan to remain in the clear or are believed to intending to stay clear. 
These include Saudi TV, Abu Dhabi, Thai  TV, Kuwait TV, Syria TV,
Taiwan, Iran, and as we go to press, Bloomberg TV all on Telstar 5, ku,
which can be received on a .7 meter dish.

       MPEG-2 is not an encryption method although
encryption can be added. Dish Network uses the Nagra system of
encryption, DirecTV uses a News Data system, and  full view big dish
primarily uses the Digicipher system. Transponder time has become so
expensive that with the exception of the preachers, the porno channels,
and the home shopping networks, it doesn't make sense to place only one
channel on one frequency.  With HBO, and Discovery Networks planning 25
channels each, it would take over two C-Band birds to air their material
the old fashioned analog way.