History
The first microwave links at Birmingham used a tower on the roof of Telephone House in Lionel Street. This originally formed the end-point for the 1949 900 MHz link from London to Birmingham, used for BBC television. From Telephone House cables ran to the BBC studios and to the transmitter at Sutton Coldfield, creating what would become the Birmingham TV Network Switching Centre (TVNSC). The London to Birmingham cable also ran to Telephone House and had been equipped for television distribution. The 900 MHz link ran via Turners Hill as initially it was proposed to stop the radio link short of the city centre due to concerns about inteference pickup.
After a relatively short period the initial 900 MHz "reversible" link was upgraded to a full two-way system however it appears the BBC preferred their distribution to be carried over the cable and in due course the radio system was re-allocated for use by ITV. A local 2 GHz link was provided to the Lichfield transmitter, which entered service in February 1956. The local ITV studios (some of which provided programming for the London area) were linked to Telephone House by cable, allowing access to vision circuits to and from London. As became the practice for ITV, the incoming "network" feed was routed to the studio so local programming and particlarly advertisments could be inserted en-route to the transmitter.
By 1959 the BBC required a circuit to serve their transmitters at Peterborough and Tacolneston (Norwich) - the contract was awarded to Marconi and the route left Birmingham as a 2 GHz link via Copt Oak. By the late 1950s GEC had also been contracted to provide a 2 GHz link to London. With interference no longer a consideration this was routed direct to Charwelton. The original 900 MHz link was removed from service by around 1961 and the antennas subsequently removed.
None of the above links were strictly "SHF" however in the early 1960s provision was made for the installation on the 1949 tower of "small" horn antennas. This appears to relate to a 1962 contract with GEC to provide a 6 GHz link between London, Birmingham and Manchester and presumably was to allow the start of service not to be dependent on the "new" tower at Birmingham. The TVNSC itself did not transfer but the existing link to Lichfield was moved to the new tower and the BBC link re-arranged to run via Twycross as part of a general-purpose link towards Norwich. Details of planned expenditure suggest the transfer from the Telephone House tower was completed as late as 1969 and it is likely the structure was removed from the roof soon after. The building, dating from the 1930s, remains in use by BT.
