Broadcasters’ news bulletin (Jan-June 1932)

#2 LAPOUITT DISCUSSES PEOBLEl^S (Continued) May 28, 1932 ”Evcr since its creation, the EederoJ Radio Connission has 'been frequently petitioned to put television on a coniraercial "basis, as if the Cor.Tnissio3i 'bj' the passing of rules oud regulations could create for an industry a state of technical perfection which the "best engineers of the country have not yet "been a'blc to achieve, "The position of bhc Comission is very clear a,nd quire simple in this respect. As soon as the television art is perfected to the icoint where the average la^vnan can espect a comparatively fair amo-ont of entertai.iment from his television receiver, it seems reasonable to suppose that the Commission will not arbitrarily bar the w'ay to economic progress in this field. "Uor has the Comission played the ostrich and stuck its head in the sand. Tlie individual comiiss loners aud their engineers ha.ve travelled far and v/ide to see at first hand the latest developments of television in the laboratories. Frequent rex^orts have been made to the Comission and such policies as have been .adopted have in every instance been motivated by an acute x^erception of facts as they then existed. Very frankly, G-entlenenj v/e are not yet convinced that television has emerged from the laboratory, and is ready to matriculate into the more severe course of adult entertainment and education. "Considerable thought is being given those days to a possible extension of the broadc-asting band. Tlie Madrid Radio Conference to be held in Madrid, Spain, begi:ining September 3, 1932, will undoubtedly consider this question, and the decision arrived at, will be far-reaching in its effects, "In brief, the Euroxoean broadcasting interests, through their common agency, the International Broadcasting Union (U. I. R. ) propose to extend the broa.dcasting band from 160 to 285 kilocycles, from 370 to 4-60 kilocycles, and to add on 10 kilo¬ cycles to the lo";er end of the present broadcasting band, making it ran from 540 to 1500 kilocycles. Considering the matter from, a x^ractica,! standxooint, it would appear that of these proposals, the extension from 370 to 460 kilocycles had the least chance of success, involving as it does the moving and reallocation of l.argo groups of comercial, mobile, and land stabions. Tne maritime and aviation in¬ terests in Euroxae are as much against such a proposal as the sane interests are in this country, and they feel that such proposals make it impossible to x^rovide adequate sx^a.ce for the saafegua.rding of these highly important safety-of-lif e services which can be handled in no other way exeexst by radio, "Hie prox^osal for the extension of the so-called long-v/ave European broad¬ casting band from 160 to 285 kilocycles in Europe, however, has a somewhat different aspect and it apx^ears that if increased facilities are necessary in Euroi^e, it v/ould bo a logical extension of their present long-wave band. In America wo have an en¬ tirely different situation. Our broadcasting band has eJv/ays been confined to with¬ in the limits of 550 to 1500 kilocycles, and it is significant that v;ithin this single band the United States has practicadly as many broadcasting stations ox^erabinr on 10 kilocycles separation as all the rest of the world xmt together. Much has been said concerning the increased service area of broadcasting stations operating on the long waves. However, we mu.st not lose sight of the fact that there is a very much greater no ise-to— signal ratio on frequencies bet\Tecn 150