The first microwave telecommunications relay in Birmingham, set up in 1949, used a metal tower on the roof of
Telephone House, a 1930s building near to the eventual site of the BT Tower, and also on Lionel Street. Construction of the tower, then known as the Post Office Tower as it was built for the
General Post Office, which operated the UK's telephone service, commenced in July 1963 and was completed in September 1965. The tower became operational in December 1966 and was officially opened by the
Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Alderman
James S. Meadows, on 5 October 1967. It was designed by the
Ministry of Public Building and Works and M.H. Bristow was the senior architect. It has 26 storeys, housing technical areas and offices, and five levels of circular aerial galleries at the top. There is a roof-mounted crane. The original intention was to build a circular tower similar to the London one but without the public floors above the aerial galleries. At one time the Post Office wanted to increase the height from , which had been agreed by the
Ministry of Aviation, to . This was refused in order to avoid non-standard procedures for aircraft approaching
Birmingham Airport from the north-west. Cost over-runs on the London tower led to a review of the Birmingham design, and then it was decided to use a circular design of the 'Chilterns' type as used at
Stokenchurch,
Charwelton,
Pye Green,
Sutton Common,
Heaton Park and
Tinshill radio stations, but with the internal diameter increased from to to provide sufficient space on the equipment floors. The square design, as built, was proposed for aesthetic reasons by the Chief Architect of the Ministry of Public Building and Works. On 5 February 2012, the last of the large analogue aerial dishes was removed following a migration to digital transmission. Around eighty smaller dishes remain. In 2020, scaffolding surrounded the tower as the structure underwent some refurbishments. These improvements included removing older satellite dishes and antennas that were no longer in use. This subsequently reduced the height of the overall tower from 152m to 140m. The refurbishment was completed in May 2022. ==Floors==