History
Fairseat is located on the North Downs, not far from the BBC transmitter at Wrotham. During the early planning stages it was suggested a single site could be used (as was the practice in a number of other locations) however this was ruled out since the Post Office required a substantial structure capable of supporting large dishes and sufficiently separated from the BBC mast. The primary purpose was to bridge the gap between London and Tolsford Hill where a cross-channel link had been operational since 1959 for television and telephone traffic. In addition Southern Television required vision circuits for their transmitter and local studio at Dover - the company's main control was at Southampton, with links passing via London in each direction. Prior to completion of the SHF route this traffic was carried over the London to Dover trunk cables.
A spur for the Backbone network ran from Stokenchurch to Fairseat, avoiding central London and running via Kelvedon Hatch. This was the subject of a 1962 contract awarded to GEC for a 2 GHz link from "Chilterns" to "Maidstone. (The use of 2 GHz avoided a conflict with the main routes from London operating on other bands.) Fairseat would seem to correspond roughly to "West Malling" in the original Backbone plan. A mid-1960s list of main cables shows a link runing from Fairseat to the Mereworth Repeater Station (between Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells).
Archive photos show the tower at Fairseat under construction in 1965 and the station equipped with dish antennas by 1966. Although Flimwell had been planned at the same stage it was not operational until around 1969. For the 1966 World Cup a temporary link was set up from the BBC at White City (Television Centre) to Tolsford Hill via Fairseat. This is understood to have operated on the 7 GHz band used for broadcast links, possibly to avoid complications when the permanent link at became operational. The contract for the main link via Flimwell, at 6 GHz, was awarded to STC.
The "standard tower" at Fairseat has "step" platforms designed to support horn antennas but it seems unlikely any were fitted as dishes had become the preferred option by the late 1960s. The building is of the standard pattern and separate from the local telephone exchange which appears to have been built in the same period. The tower was also used for "Thames Radio" - providing ship-to-shore communications in the VHF Marine Band.
The televison links transferred from cable to SHF once Flimwell was operational, allowing ITV to start UHF colour service from Dover in December 1969. Although Fairseat carried ITV and EBU ("Eurovision") links the BBC operated its own arrangements. Further links were added for Channel 4 in 1981 and for the Gillingham and Maidstone TVS studios around 1982. In the mid-1980s a new route from London to France was added - it's unclear whether the links via Fairseat were upgraded to digital systems.
Currently the site provides local links for BT and EE along with some "High Frequency Trading" links towards Europe in the 4 GHz and 6 GHz bands, for which relatively large dishes are used.
