Byzantine Beacon System Questions

1) Could it have been maintained well past the point it was downgraded? It seems to me that just because the border with the Arabs became more secure, there's no reason to get rid of an overwhelmingly useful communications tool.

2) Could it have been expanded? Both in terms of sophistication and in terms of reach. Beacons to the west would certainly be useful.

3) What would be the consequences if they had maintained the system?
 
Actually there's some evidence that they deliberately dismantled it because whenever it was used it caused panic and riots in Constantinople, and tactics to defeat raids evolved so that rather than try and prevent them the Byzantine army actually ambushed raiders when they were on their way back, weighed down by plunder, such that raiding became increasingly less profitable - let me know if you want some sources for this though there isn't much due to the Macedonian dynasty doing the usual thing of trashing the previous emperors.
 
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