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Satellite dishes have disappeared from BT Tower – but it’s not the result of a hi-tech theft.
In 10 years, the giant NatWest Tower has also been removed from the skyline in another example of how fast the times are changing.
Demolition crews arrived in September 2015 to begin knocking down the NatWest Tower.
The BT Tower is still standing firm and tall – but without the giant dishes and crane which used to festoon the top.
Read more:How the BT Tower was built – from bottom to top in pictures
Although the top of the tower was surrounded by scaffolding in August when Tom Cruise was here filming Mission: Impossible 7, BT says it was not for the film.
The tower was originally equipped with four-metre wide analogue dishes and used a microwave relay system to handle up to 150,000 telephone conversations and 40 TV channels at once.
(Image: Graham Young / BirminghamLive)
The final large dishes were removed in 2012 and the look of the top has been changing ever since.
The recent scaffolding was erected to shield the dismantling of the giant crane which used to lever the larger dishes into position.
Any smaller dishes left – typically half a meter in diameter – send signals to parts of Britain without fibre-optic broadband and they don’t need the crane to be installed.
A three-storey hollow concrete cube forms the top of the tower where the BT logo is.
Peregrine falcons nest near the top, partly thanks to the RSPB creating a pebbled nesting tray to resemble their favoured natural habitat.
(Image: Graham Young / BirminghamLive)
Tower of power
BirminghamLive asked BT if the tower was still needed now that it no longer has any giant dishes at the top.
A BT spokesperson said: “The Birmingham Radio Tower remains operational and still transmits telephone, radio and TV signals.
“However, as we no longer require as many satellite dishes a number of these have been removed.
“We updated the sign on the tower earlier this year to reflect the new BT brand logo, keeping the iconic building moving with the times and also complementing our new future-fit office at nearby Three Snowhill.
(Image: Graham Young / BirminghamLive)
“The scaffolding was in place to facilitate the removal of the original crane and barrel which was used to lift and lower equipment from ground to the top level at 139.700m (458ft).
“The crane and barrel were removed as a precautionary safety measure and the fact technology has given us the ability to lift and lower equipment without the need for the crane.”
The good news is that the falcons are still there.
The spokesperson added: “The BT Tower is home to a breeding pair of Peregrine falcons.
“We work annually with bird experts and the RSPB to help preserve their breeding ground and limit any disturbance whilst they have their young.”
(Image: Graham Young / BirminghamLive)
Three Snowhill
BT’s new city HQ is on the other side of Great Charles Queensway at Three Snowhill – the last new building alongside the Livery Street Snow Hill car park.
Staff moved in during September and BT will be creating a total of 1,000 jobs there over the coming months and years.
The spokesperson added: “Three Snowhill is occupied by BT colleagues from a number of different units including Consumer, Enterprise and Digital and Networks.
“We have also invested in our technology presence in Birmingham, with some of our world class technology research and product development taking place there.
BrumWish 2021 aims to get thousands of Christmas gifts to young children in need across our city – the homeless, the vulnerable, kids in care and kids who have little.
This year’s appeal is bigger and better than ever – because we have teamed up with our partners at #Toys4Birmingham, including Thrive Together Birmingham, the Birmingham Playcare Network, the Edgbaston Foundation and Birmingham Forward Steps.
Also involved are Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust, Barnardo’s, Spurgeon’s children’s charity, the Springfield project in Sparkhill, St Paul’s Community Development Trust and Your Local Pantry, which runs food hubs in 12 locations across Birmingham and the Black Country.
Three donation days, held at Edgbaston to take in new and nearly new donations of gifts and books, are now ended.
You can buy a gift from the #Brumwish Amazon Wishlist here.
You can also donate cash, which will go into a fund held by a charity partner to use to plug gaps or buy specialist toys for children with additional needs. This is the link to make a donation.
“Two of the floors at Three Snowhill are occupied by Openreach, the digital network business which is also part of BT Group
“A number of colleague roles have moved from Midland ATE building (at the corner of Hill Street and Station Street) to the new Three Snowhill office.
“However, the building remains operational and there are no current plans to close it.”
Philip Jansen, chief executive, BT Group, said: “Three Snowhill is our first major regional hub site to open outside London and is a marker of how BT is transforming to meet the needs of our colleagues and our customers.
“It’s also a statement that we’re serious about the ‘levelling up’ agenda. While our head office remains in London, we are committed to creating more opportunities and basing key operations in other areas of the UK too.
BT Group directly employs 5,470 people across the region, with a further 600 employed as contractors.
(Image: Nick Wilkinson / BirminghamLive)
What is the BT Birmingham Radio Tower?
Work to build the 26-storey tower began in July 1963 and was completed by the end of 1965 ready for the telecommunications equipment to be switched on in 1966.
There are 31 floors altogether including five circular aerial galleries at the top.
Designed by the Ministry of Public Building and Works working for the General Post Office (GPO), its straight sides and inset corners would keep it stable.
The Lord Mayor of Birmingham James S Meadows officially opened it on October 5, 1967 and has been known as the Post Office Tower and GPO Tower.
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