A "screen" or even just a set of parallel bars are highly reflective to electromagnetic waves as long as the open spaces are small compared to the wavelengths.
"Grid" dishes work fine ... with less weight and less wind resistance ... for frequencies below about 3 GHz. (Wavelengths of at least 10 cm.)
(I even worked on a microwave system in South America where huge grid dishes were used on a 90-mile link.)
Answer: It wouldn't be as modern as today is we would be back to using oil and other things from back then there wouldn't be cars everything would be less machined.
