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Astra 2 at 28.2°E

The Astra 2 system consists of 3 satellites close together in space so that your dish will 'see' all of them as if they were a single unit. They are actually almost directly above mount Nyamuragira in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa's most active volcano. But I digress... All 3 transmit signals aimed at Europe but the coverage on the ground varies considerably. The 2 older satellites, 2A and 2B, can be thought of as flood lights, lighting up a huge area of Europe, whereas the newer Astra 2D is more like a spot light focused on the British Isles. 2A and 2B have a north beam and a south beam. 2D has a narrow or spot beam. Different programmes are broadcast on different beams. For example BBC broadcast on the 2D spot beam which makes them harder to receive outside of the British Isles.

2A North	2A South	2B North	2B South	2D Spot

All 3 beams cover the UK so all channels are viewable if you have the appropriate Sky contract. However, as you travel further away from the UK, some channels can only be obtained with a large dish. Of the terrestrial channels the first to be lost will be ITV1 and the BBC both of which transmit on Astra 2D, the narrow beam, and once you get down into Spain or Italy you'll also begin to lose Channel 4 and Five (on the north beam). Many of the Sky channels transmit on the south beam and therefore can be received in virtually all of Europe except for northern Scandinavia and parts of Greece.

Just for the sake of completeness there is also a 4th satellite used for some Sky channels. It's Eurobird 1, located at 28.5ºE. It's so close to the Astra 2 system that Sky dishes will pick it up OK.