A Medium Wave broadcast transmission channel contains two sidebands, both about 50 percent wider in bandwidth than a telephone line. It could carry data at ISDN rate, 64 kilobits per second, using a fairly rugged modem with only 64 phase and amplitude states.

Interenet video-conferencing & videophone systems, such as "Real Video" work at only 28.8 kilobits per second, and work considerably better at 64 kilobits per second, providing good quality small colour pictures with rapid refresh, and sound.

Since this data rate, or faster, is easily achievable in a Medium Wave broadcast transmission channel, it opens up the possibility of a form of small screen television broadcasting on Medium Wave.

The small screen size would be well suited to the type of portable receiver normally used for Medium Wave listening. A suitable receiver might look like a Medium Wave radio with an LCD pocket TV screen built in.

Radio 5 or Radio 4 could broadcast small screen pictures with the news & sport. Virgin radio could rival MTV, and do better by having terrestrial coverage and portable receivers.

Whilst not being a true rival to television, this small screen on the radio could be of great entertainment value to radio's young, music oriented audience.

It would also bring television full circle, because the first television broadcasts were made on Medium Wave, using Baird's 30 line system. Unfortunately he didn't have the benefit of low cost digital memory, data compression and colour LCD displays. Today we can do much better than Baird, even on Medium Wave.