A similar, larger telescope[0] was put into service in China in 2016. There are a few things Arecibo could do that it can't (receiving frequencies above 3 GHz,

A similar, larger telescope[0] was put into service in China in 2016. There are a few things Arecibo could do that it can't (receiving frequencies above 3 GHz, transmitting), but in other areas it's better. So on the whole I can see how the need isn't that strong right now. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-hundred-meter_Aperture_Spherical_Telescope https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-hundred-meter_Aperture_Sp...