The Unlawyer

For those in Asia who don’t want to be bound by the programming choices available on land-based pay TV systems, or even on free terrestrial channels, there are plenty of free-to-air (FTA) satellite TV channels to be had from the the orbiting birds found overhead, with the overwhelming majority in Chinese, followed by a smattering of other Asian languages like Hindi, Thai, Arabic, and yes, English.

There are also a number of FTA radio channels one can enjoy, and the best of them can be found broadcasting on C-band on the Japanese-owned JCSAT 3A satellite orbiting at 128.0 degrees east, all courtesy of JT Music, a Taiwan-based satellite broadcaster.

Up to 40 commercial-free music channels can be listened to from just one transponder, transmitting such genres as new music from the United States, as well as rhythm and blues, hiphop, and oldies from the ’50s and ’60s. Chinese music is also on tap, from classical pieces to Cantopop. Japanese genres are also available, such as J-Pop and enka.

My personal favorites are the bossa nova, lounge, and fusion jazz channels.

There are also three channels that broadcast nothing but the Happy Birthday song, in English and Chinese, nature sounds, and the Wedding March respectively, in an endless loop.

There is also one channel devoted to holiday and seasonal music: for example, it played Christmas carols last December. Today, this channel is featuring Chinese music associated with the celebration of the Lunar New Year, and nonstop too I might add.

You can listen to sample of what these channels have to offer online if you wish.

So far, receiving these channels should not be that difficult across most of Asia, as JCSAT 3A’s C-band footprint is rather extensive.

You may ask: why go through the trouble of setting up a satellite dish, which I must admit can be a frustrating experience, as opposed to listening the thousands of radio stations available online? I suppose I like a technical challenge: I have enjoyed listening to shortwave radio as far as I can remember, and receiving satellite programs is just an extension of this hobby. Moreover, listening to satellite radio is free of charge, stations are available most of the time – bad weather and solar outages excepted – and does not consume bandwidth.