A COMMUNICATIONS company recently marked 50 years at its Crawley Court site with a special event.
Residents of Crawley village, just outside Winchester, current and former colleagues of Arqiva were invited for tours of the site and to view archive material including video, images and technology which people at the site have been involved in over the years.
On October 15 1973 Crawley Court became the new headquarters for the engineering and finance departments of the Independent Broadcast Authority (IBA), relocating from Brompton Road in London.
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Through mergers, acquisitions and name changes the company now known as Arqiva came into being in 2005.
Satellite television, teletext and the MPEG video format were developed either partially or fully by engineers on the site.
Today, Arqiva is the owner and sole operator of the UK’s national TV and radio infrastructure, and also manages more than 3,000 TV and video services in more than 100 countries around the world.
Arqiva is also a leader in smart utilities connectivity, supporting the demand for efficiency and drive for sustainability with, among other things, providing networks for smart metering for energy and water across the UK.
The site was purchased for £47,000 and at the time of sale featured a semi-derelict manor house, which needed to be demolished. It was replaced with the modernist office design that we see today.
Queen Elizabeth II visited the site on November 28 1975.
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