[dsdjm]

Idle curiosity calling

Was killing a bit of time last night following on from one of the "what's made where" threads and a was having a read through the websites of various studio facilities in and around London.

They all seem to make a big thing about their permanent fiber connections to BT Tower. Who / what is so important at BT Tower with regards to live TV broadcasting?

My guess is that all the main playout centres also have their own permanent circuits to BT Tower; where an optical switch can create a circuit from any studio <> any playout centre; as a more cost effective solution to studios having dedicated circuits to playout centers themselves? Is that basically the case?

[PeterB]

Originally Posted by dsdjm

Idle curiosity calling

Was killing a bit of time last night following on from one of the "what's made where" threads and a was having a read through the websites of various studio facilities in and around London.

They all seem to make a big thing about their permanent fiber connections to BT Tower. Who / what is so important at BT Tower with regards to live TV broadcasting?

My guess is that all the main playout centres also have their own permanent circuits to BT Tower; where an optical switch can create a circuit from any studio <> any playout centre; as a more cost effective solution to studios having dedicated circuits to playout centers themselves? Is that basically the case?

Yes, correct.

[Jellied Eel]

Originally Posted by dsdjm

My guess is that all the main playout centres also have their own permanent circuits to BT Tower; where an optical switch can create a circuit from any studio <> any playout centre; as a more cost effective solution to studios having dedicated circuits to playout centers themselves? Is that basically the case?

Yes. Some of it's historical though given BT's former monopoly status and BT Broadcast's role in providing fixed and mobile broadcast links. Companies connect to it & then can switch circuits around on demand rather than having to build their own circuits between partners that may only get used occasionally.

Some companies like Sohonet and Arqiva are chipping away at it's dominance though, partly because the tower's pretty full.

[*marv*]

Well I can tell you that until recently it was on now maps and was a secret building that didnt actually exist.

[dids858]

And soon you will be able to have your dinner at the top of the tower again.

[squealy]

Iconic building too. And in older people's minds seen as part of the "establishment" with all the legitimacy that lends it.

[Dazzy D]

I thought it had been demolished by a large kitten.

[RobAnt]

Originally Posted by *marv*

Well I can tell you that until recently it was on now maps and was a secret building that didnt actually exist.

Hence the rotating public restaurant at the top!

It was closed (the restaurant that is) many years ago as it posed a potential terrorist target, I believe.

[Strathclyde]

As a tower, it's not hugely important to broadcasters - but the switching centre underneath is the hub of UK broadcast switching.

The tower itself remains primarily as a hub of microwave links, which remain a relatively quick/cheap way of delivering bandwidth for all sorts of applications...including outside broadcasts and terrestrial transmitter links.

[goggled]

Originally Posted by dids858

And soon you will be able to have your dinner at the top of the tower again.

In my case it'll be only if the prices are down market and not sky high.

[welshkid]

Originally Posted by *marv*

Well I can tell you that until recently it was on now maps and was a secret building that didnt actually exist.

Originally Posted by RobAnt

Hence the rotating public restaurant at the top!

It was closed (the restaurant that is) many years ago as it posed a potential terrorist target, I believe.

It was one of those quirky things. Although it was clearly visible and instantly recognisable to everyone, it was, as mentioned above, a secret and was never included on maps until the 1990s.

As was mentioned in a commons debate:

Ms. Kate Hoey (Vauxhall) - Hon. Members have given examples of seemingly trivial information that remains officially secret. An example that has not been mentioned, but which is so trivial that it is worth mentioning, is the absence of the British Telecom tower from Ordnance Survey maps.

I hope that I am covered by parliamentary privilege when I reveal that the British Telecom tower does exist and that its address is 60 Cleveland street, London.

There was a small explosion/bomb actually in the restaurant that caused the decision to close the place.

[PeterB]

Originally Posted by Strathclyde

As a tower, it's not hugely important to broadcasters - but the switching centre underneath is the hub of UK broadcast switching.

The tower itself remains primarily as a hub of microwave links, which remain a relatively quick/cheap way of delivering bandwidth for all sorts of applications...including outside broadcasts and terrestrial transmitter links.

The microwave links have not been used for some time but cannot be removed as the building is listed. Fibre has replaced microwaves.

[hardylane]

It is also a brilliant, iconic 60's landmark and I DO hope to go up it one day!

[Strathclyde]

Originally Posted by PeterB

The microwave links have not been used for some time but cannot be removed as the building is listed. Fibre has replaced microwaves.

Gosh... I didn't realise that... thanks... you learn something new every day. But are NONE of them still used? There are (unlisted!) Microwave towers scattered across the country, still; are they used only for very short range communication?

Actually, I think SOME them MUST still be in use... if not, why is radio reception within a quarter of a mile of the tower well-nigh impossible? (I drive past it every day).

[PeterB]

Originally Posted by Strathclyde

Gosh... I didn't realise that... thanks... you learn something new every day. But are NONE of them still used? There are (unlisted!) Microwave towers scattered across the country, still; are they used only for very short range communication?

Actually, I think SOME them MUST still be in use... if not, why is radio reception within a quarter of a mile of the tower well-nigh impossible? (I drive past it every day).

Built up area? What has that got to do with microwaves?

Some of the large microwave towers used for TV distribution have been dismantled.

[Strathclyde]

[quote=PeterB;36430439]Built up area? What has that got to do with microwaves?

QUOTE]

No, it's not loss of signal, it's interference... go down Tottenham Court road, or those parallel to it on the other side of the tower and as you get nearer the tower, you get blanket noise across the entire MW and FM spectrum! SatNavs also go awry, and often lose all satellites.

If it's not the tower, there's a massive source of interference in the area...

Maybe I should complain to Ofcom, and get the tower totally shut down???

[RobinOfLoxley]

The Post Office Tower is important in so many ways. Technology, architecture, culture,
entertainment, terrorist target. And it still is true today 40 years later.

The younger generation may not realise what this building this conjures up in the mind.
It was the start of all modern comms and part of the 60s White Heat of Technology. Britain was going places. The Beatles and Stones and many other were conquering the world.

Computers just starting to talk to each other (OK another 20 years before we all had pcs and www). Live TV by satellite link :remember Neil Armstrong? Buzz Lightyear? ;-) , no more "booking" a telephone call abroad and waiting for the operator to call you back 2 hours later and say "Caller, your call to Sydney is connected. Putting you through.
Concorde was built and flying. Jumbo 747 too. The world was our oyster.
(except for Vietnam. And mobile phones. Only 2000 VHF links for the whole country then?)

I am 46 and lived in The City as a kid. Dad took Mum to the revolving restaurant once for a romantic meal. I think they ended up having a blazing row over something. Oh well, tee hee.

A little while later, us kids were taken up to the top to the visitors' gallery.
I remember the view and the lifts. Damn they were fast. Took your stomach away and seemed to do 0-20 storeys in about 0.6 seconds.

Soon after that the IRA bomb went off and I remember feeling gutted cos it was shut indefinitely to the public.....till now. Hurrah!

But I can't afford to eat there now. Boo Hoo.

Anyway nostalgia rules and very fond memories.

[James2001]

Originally Posted by hardylane

and I DO hope to go up it one day!

Ooh-eer missus!

[TheBoingoBandit]

The base of the building has flats.


I once visited a person who lived there. When you were on the balconey and looked up, you were right underneath it.
(It was on the day of the attempted London tube bombings - 21st July- so it was quite strange to watch the Police zooming around the streets.)


Apparently, they had poor aerial reception, so I suggested asking BT if he could install an aerial on top of the tower, complete with VERY long co-ax cable!

[John Dough]

I vaguely remember visiting the Post Office tower as a child.It's a real shame that it's now closed to the public because it's an important icon of the 1960's.

Is the restaurant really reopening?

[Posh Bloke]

Originally Posted by RobinOfLoxley

Dad took Mum to the revolving restaurant once for a romantic meal. I think they ended up having a blazing row over something. Oh well, tee hee..

Probably argued over who got to sit next to the window!

[Cent]

Last year The Paul O'Grady show went off air halfway through and a screen came up saying "BT Tower link... etc."

Turned out someone had forgotten to change the booking of the link after the clocks changed.

So usually they booked it from 16.30 - 18.30, but it went off at 17.30.

[Jellied Eel]

Originally Posted by Strathclyde

Gosh... I didn't realise that... thanks... you learn something new every day. But are NONE of them still used? There are (unlisted!) Microwave towers scattered across the country, still; are they used only for very short range communication?

Yes. Lots are still in use for radio, mobile networks, telemetry links for utilities etc. It's a cost/benefit thing. They used to be expensive with cost of dishes, radios, licences etc but some of those costs have fallen. Previously there was also a lot of different ownership of towers which made it more complicated to organise long links.

From my experience, they're less used for long distance links given availability of fibre derived capacity between cities, but can still be useful for 'last mile' links where there's no fibre/copper and you can get line of sight to a mast. Given the civils costs for digging cables, it can a still be a cost effective (or sometimes only) solution.

Actually, I think SOME them MUST still be in use... if not, why is radio reception within a quarter of a mile of the tower well-nigh impossible? (I drive past it every day).

That may be due to the buildings and amount of RF noise generated around that area.

The tower's certainly an icon though. I remember using it as a nav point walking back from a party in Elephant & Castle to my place off Baker St. Seemed like a good idea at the time, aim for the tower, turn left.

[ariusuk]

Originally Posted by Jellied Eel

The tower's certainly an icon though. I remember using it as a nav point walking back from a party in Elephant & Castle to my place off Baker St. Seemed like a good idea at the time, aim for the tower, turn left.

Presumably you swam across the Thames?

[mikw]

Originally Posted by ariusuk

Presumably you swam across the Thames?

I think JE reckons he can walk on water anyway!