Once I completed my move to Exeter in March 1984, getting a job was my main priority. Fortunately, Rediffusion were hiring temporary staff in order to roll out their new "cable" TV channels, and I was hired in this capacity, starting in May.
My job, for the most part, was to disconnect the existing wiring from households that were connected to the Rediffusion network, but that had not yet subscribed to the new service. To that end, I was provided with a van (like the one shown here), a ladder, and a partner whose job was basically to steady the ladder and hand me tools as and when required.
The "new cable system" was essentially neither "new", nor "cable" in the true sense. It utilised the old wired system that had previously been used for terrestrial TV. In those days, there were only four terrestrial channels in the UK - BBC1, BBC2, ITV and (since 1982) Channel 4. In Exeter, all of these channels were now provided via a local transmitter using roof-mounted antennae at the subscriber end.
The rediffusion system could provide up to four channels, each sent over a two-wire twisted pair. The four new channels were broadcast via satellite, and distributed to subscribers via a local ground station. If I remember rightly, they included a music channel (MTV), a Film Channel, and a Children's Channel. I don't remember what the fourth channel was.
Of course, all the guys that worked for the company during that time got the service for free! When I took the job on, the temporary contract was only supposed to be for a three-month period, but the work took longer than anticipated, so I ended up working there for nine months.