Cable Systems for Great Britain

Two different systems of cable television have been developed in the United Kingdom, the HF multipair method designed as an alternative means of reception for local transmitters and the conventional coaxial form as a community antenna for distant stations. Restrictive government regulation combined with very extensive coverage by transmitters has seriously affected the prospects for cable television in the near term future. Prospects for the future, apart from a few experiments, must wait on the deliberations of a Royal Commission, expected to take about three years. The prospects in other countries of the European Community are more hopeful, and there is a growing interest in networks based on the star concept instead of the usual trunk and branch. General agreement about the wide-band services to be provided or the methods to be employed appears to be far off.