NAB reports (Mar-Dec 1933)

The National Association of Broadcasters NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING * * * * * WASHINGTON, D. C. PHILIP G. LOUCKS, Managing Director NAB REPORTS * * * * * Copyright, 1933, The National Association ot Broadcasters Vol. 1 No. 20 JULY 15, 1933 RADIO CONFERENCE UNDER WAY The North and Central American Radio Conference got under way this week. The first meeting was held on Monday, July 10, with Sr. Coronda, of the Department of Communications and Public Works, presiding. In a speech welcoming the delegates to Mexico, he said: “With the exception of European and American countries which have concluded treaties for the allocation of frequencies for broad¬ casting, in a precise and definite form, the majority of the nations participating in this conference have not contracted, up to date, obligations derived from any contractual relation upon a topic of such significance, and as an immediate effect of the circumstances referred to, the allocation of frequencies has been realized freely in the interior of each State. So we are at a point in which the reciprocal interferences occasioned as a consequence of the number and power of the broadcasting stations have come to make in¬ dispensable, urgent and vital, an agreement, the most serious pur¬ pose of which should be that of eliminating the unfavorable con¬ ditions in which such stations operate, tending, as a logical corollary, to the attainment of greater efficiency and to the most favorable use and development of the channels employed for broadcasting. “We are facing a state of affairs very close to anarchy due to the typical manifestations peculiar to it. To establish order, in this sector of collective reality under the aegis of law and technique, is an eminent and civilizing task. “The juridical principle of the equality of States which is pro¬ claimed by modern international law, as resulting from the most complete power of independence and as a support of international ties, should be restricted or limited exclusively by express and voluntary waiver of rights which emanate from it, either by giving an outward form to the will through an agreement, or in an ex¬ plicit manner, through the customary practice, and provided it is convenient to the national interests to establish, preserve or strengthen the friendly ties with other countries, which may be expressed in tangible demonstrations of cordiality and proper under¬ standing, even though the renouncement of certain rights may be¬ come necessary, provided the decorum of nations is unimpaired. “The Government of Mexico, aware of the significance involved by the disparity of circumstances which prevail in the countries of North and Central America, in a chapter of social life filled with such a future as is that of radio broadcasting, and prompted by an ample spirit of harmony, entertains the hope that there will be attained in the present conference, the basic principles of co¬ ordination and of equilibrium which may serve as a lasting founda¬ tion to settle adequately in the future the technical and legal differences concomitant with the development of broadcasting in international matters. I wish to emphasize the fact that our Government is willing to waive some if its rights with respect to the use and development of such an important means of communi¬ cation, without any limits other than those imposed upon it in satisfying its present and future needs.” In "replying to Sr. Coronda, Judge Sykes, chairman of the Ameri¬ can Delegation, said: “The science of mankind has as yet been able to find but a limited number of radio facilities for the use of the entire world, therefore it becomes necessary for the nations of the world to agree on a just and equitable basis whereby each nation may have its prorata use of these facilities. Though but an infant in point of age, radio has reached a state of utmost importance in world-wide and continental communication. When we think that a radio communi¬ cation circumscribes the globe in an infinitesimal point of time, its importance socially, in the business world and in the relationship of nations, is self-evident. A few days ago I talked by radio tele¬ phone from the city of Washington to the city of Manila in the Philippine Islands and the clarity of the communication and the tone of voice were as perfect as if I had been conversing over the local phone. “Agreements among nations with reference to the use of radio facilities are made necessary because the ingenuity of mankind has not yet discovered a way for an unlimited use of a frequency at the same time regardless of distance separation. Some of these frequencies are international in use, which means that they can be used by but one station at that particular time. Others may be used simultaneously in different regions, which means roughly speaking that when stations are separated a certain distance apart they may simultaneously operate without interfering with each other. The two characteristics of these classes were recognized in the Washington Conference and also in the Madrid Conference of last year. It is with these regional stations that we have come here to try and reach an agreement as to their use in North and Central America. We know the characteristics of these frequencies. We know how far apart stations of a given power should be separated from each other in order that each may properly operate and serve its purpose without undue interference with the other. We know that if these laws of natural science are not observed and stations are indiscriminately operated, the result is chaos and that radio communication is practically destroyed. “We all recognize the importance of radio. It is the annihilator of both time and distance. It is one of the greatest powers in the world for good when properly used and for evil when improperly used. It is one of the most important means for the establishment of cordial relationships among nations and for the continued preser¬ vation of world peace. In North and Central America we should use it to further establish and maintain the present cordial rela¬ tionships that exist among us as neighbor nations. “You have spoken, Mr. Secretary, of the difficult problem that lies before us in reaching an agreement. I agree with you that it is difficult. I would, however, again impress upon all of us the importance of our reaching an agreement. Our difficulties should not be as great as those that confronted the European Broadcast¬ ing Conference just concluded a short time ago in which an agree¬ ment was reached by the nations of Europe. Their problems were even more difficult than ours are, yet, realizing the importance of reaching an agreement in order that broadcasting might exist on that continent, the various differences of those nations were finally adjusted and an accord reached. Let it not be said of us that con¬ tinental Europe with the vast intricacies of its problem was able to reach an agreement and North and Central America failed.” It was revealed that representatives of the United States and Mexico met at San Antonio, Tex., in March 1932 and at that time agreed to the present meeting after the conclusion of the Madrid Conference. The Mexican Government extended invitations to Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Newfoundland in addition to the United States. Panama and Newfoundland are not represented at the conference. The first sessions of the conference were devoted to organization and to the appointment of committees to study and report on various phases of the allocation problem involved. No specific proposals for the allocation of frequencies has as yet been pro¬ posed nor has Mexico made known officially the basis upon which it will demand facilities. Reports are to the effect that Mexico may consider area as a basis for its claims and that it will ask only for facilities in the present broadcast band. In the deliberations so far the question of the status of border stations has not been determined, nor has it been indicated that the same basis for allocating facilities for regional and local stations as exists between the United States and Canada will be followed by Mexico and other southern countries. It is conceded that the principal difficulty will revolve around the allocation of national or clear channels. • Page 85 •