This picture was taken this summer in the south of France, in case it’s relevant. The area was on the side of a mountain (near a village) and had olive trees all around. Any idea?
I wonder if there are satellite dishes like this that come flat packed and you need to assemble it.
Pretty much only explanation. The strips aren't as good as solid, but if the tech that allowed mesh existed they wouldn't have to try to maximize surface area still and could use mesh panels.
It's one of those weird products that as soon as it solved a problem (shipping a complete fish to remote area) the real problem (needs a solid dish) got solved.
So they probably weren't popular for long, but also might not have had a reason to replace the physical dish for decades.
Even when people stopped using dishes in general, they tended to just sit there. Which also makes "dumped off a cliff" a likely explanation.