From GEORGE HAYTON
It is with some glee that I read Joe Flower’s ‘There’s a starman waiting
in the sky . . .’ (19 March) about space-based utility, communication and
broadcast networks. As described, this technology works very well when you
are sunbathing on your yacht off Tierra del Fuego or filming the vast diversity
of wildlife in the Gobi; but where such truly marvellous technology will
be demanded most – inside modern, metallised, glazed and steel structures
or even the humble apartment block or hotel – your multimedia Total Electronic
Package, capable of communicating with one of billions of other TEPs and
receiving hundreds of television, audio and digital broadcasts, will be
about as useful as carrying half a house brick around in your pocket.
A little closer to earth I watch the blood drain from the faces of building
managers when discussing the cost of current Shared Antenna Television networks,
giving full access to just one popular broadcast satellite system. I wonder
who will foot the bill for some form of two-way Transparent Antenna Network
that will carry all those microwaves beating down uselessly on the roof
above to where they are needed: inside.
George Hayton Architectural Cable Services Kings Lynn, Norfolk
