notthat posted in the FAQ section that you can get CH4, CH5 & SKY3 with a freeview card but without a subscription cost. I've just had to pay a one-off fee of 20UKP to enable me to watch those 3 so not sure how that works ?
Fortunately I brought a Sky Digibox with me and have a UK address that I can get stuff sent to, there is however absolutely no need to have a phone line to enable the card (I just did this yesterday)
If you can buy all the gear then SkyPlus (& HD) will work fine