THE deflector is a simple system which amplifies a signal and sends it to a receiver.
BBC, ITV and Channel 4 signals are picked up by aerials on high ground and fed into an amplifier. They are then sent onwards to homes in the area.
The amplified signal can then be picked up by the next deflector, amplified again and sent on to the next deflector. Deflectors have no scrambling facility and can be picked up by anyone within range.
MMDS, or Multipoint Microwave Distribution Systems, are simply television signals very high up the range, outside the UHF because lower ranges are crowded.
There are about 30 MMDS transmitters on high ground around the country. The signals are beamed either direct to customers or to subsidiary transmitters, known as beambenders, to cover blind spots.
MMDS signals are encoded and unscrambled by the subscriber and can be charged for.
