Council bosses in Cheltenham have spent more than £100,000 wiring flats with Sky+ ahead of the digital switchover.
A three-year programme to prepare for the switch-off of analogue television has seen Cheltenham Borough Homes replacing aerials on communal blocks throughout the town.
An Echo Freedom of Information request has revealed the preparations include readying every building to receive Sky+ at a cost of £113,000, although residents will have to pay for subscriptions to the service them- selves.
Paul Stephenson, assistant chief executive at Cheltenham Borough Homes, said: "With the digital switchover anticipated to start in the county between 2010 and 2011, we began a programme to upgrade aerial systems for the council's tenants and leaseholders who share a facility.
"The planning and preparation work began with a customer working group in 2006. Then, in 2007 and 2008, training, advice, leaflets and information sheets were distributed to residents, along with some roadshows, to make sure tenants and leaseholders were aware of the changes to come.
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"The upgrade work is now in the third and final year and to date has benefited more than 1,000 tenants and lease- holders."
The Government plans to ensure every home in the country has switched to digital television by 2012. Some older-style aerials may not be able to cope with the new signal and it is these the council says it has been replacing.
To receive digital television, householders can buy a set-top box, subscribe to cable or have a satellite dish installed.
Freeview boxes start at £25 while Freesat from Sky is a one-off payment of £150 including standard digital box, dish and standard installation. There is no subscription cost.
A CBH spokesman said: "The upgrade to communal aerials on Cheltenham Borough Homes-managed property is of the integrated reception system type.
"This enables customers to access digital signals, DAB digital radio and Sky. It will also reduce the number of Sky satellite dishes on blocks of flats as customers will be able to plug their system into a communal aerial.
"Customers can only access Sky services if they have a Sky subscription. This is not something that we provide."
