A set top box that enables TV viewers to access to HbbTV FreeviewPlus is now on sale in a move which free-to-air industry body Freeview hopes will bolster the number of people using the service.

The launch, flagged by Mumbrella earlier this month, will make it far cheaper for consumers to connect to Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV), the new online platform on which the Freeview technology sits.

The aerialBox T2100, manufactured by Dish TV, is the first set-top box (STB) certified for FreeviewPlus and can be connected to any digital television. It costs $149.

Previously, consumers have had to buy a FreeviewPlus certified TV to gain access to FreeviewPlus, which shows catch-up TV from the ABC, Seven, Nine, Ten and SBS via a TV guide.

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The launch is welcome news for Freeview which was dealt a major blow when SBS announced it was quitting the body as the broadcaster looks to cut costs.

“We’re delighted to welcome Dish TV as a manufacturing partner. The arrival of the first FreeviewPlus STB is an exciting development for Australian consumers as an affordable way of accessing all of FreviewPlus’s many great new features,” Freeview chief executive Liz Ross said.

“FreeviewPlus has been developed so that Australians can benefit from the best free-to-air TV experience in the world, and from today, viewers can enjoy FreeviewPlus via the new aerialBox STB.”

She had previously told Mumbrella the price for the box would be in line with the annual costs of subscriptions to streaming services like Stan, Netflix, Presto and Quickflix.

Dish TV said it was “proud” to be the first manufacturer to develop a FreeviewPlus-certified STB for Australia.

Steve Jones