14 September 2006
British Telecom (BT) has taken the decision to close down one of its historic satellite stations in Cornwall.
Kelvin Ball, head of the Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station in Cornwall, said the decision was an extremely difficult one to take.
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 PM programme Mr Ball said: "It's been a very difficult decision. We've been working around it for quite some time. It got to the point where a decision had to be made."
The satellite station has a Grade II listed antenna nicknamed Arthur and was the first to send and receive TV signals across the Atlantic.
BT officials decided that the satellite operations must now be centralised in an effort to keep up with modern communications methods.
Some 90 people will lose their job from the closure but it is thought they will be relocated by BT to other parts of the company.
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