Radio Broadcast (May 1928-Apr 1929)

IHh MARCH Oh RADIO SEES AND INITKPUnATION OK ( WVUYNV ESPES E£ES I S The War on the Short Waves 'ERE a modern Columbus to discover a New World, the nations of the earth would speedily sally forth to seize their share of its virgin lands. In the last decade, science has discovered such a new world in the ether and the nations are rushing feverishly to stake out claims by inaugurating new short-wave services. Commissioner LaFount stated before the House Committee on Appropriations recently, "It might interest you to know that in the last ninety days, over ninety foreign stations have gone on the air in an effort to control communication— the wireless communication of the world. The United States has placed two on the air. . . . Now it is a fight to get there first. We file or preempt in Berne the channels that we think we are going to use, but what counts, are the channels that are actually put to beneficial use." Communications are the nerves of commerce and commerce is the life of nations. Permitted unrestricted growth as private enterprise, American communication companies have made excellent progress in establishing a world-wide communication system (see March of Radio, March, 1928); but we are now entering a new phase of the situation, a bitter war of competition between telegraph and radio interests, further complicated by the ambitions of the host of interests desiring to establish private services. This era of competition should be considered not only in the light of its national importance but for its bearing upon the position of America in international communications. The keenest competitors for radio territory are Great Britain and the United States. And Holland has not been backward; it looks upon radio communication not only as a medium of commercial exchange but as an ally to maintain unity with her far-flung colonists by means of short-wave rebroadcasting of programs originating from the mother country. Germany also has ambitious plans, already well under way, for an international system of high-speed telegraph, radio, and picture transmission. The present enviable position of American international communications, now threatened by politics and bitter competition, is as much attributable to former political meddling in England as it is to American commercial and scientific progressiveness. The stage is now set to repeat in the United States all the mistakes Britain has made, just at a time when it may seriously injure our position in the world of the ether. For Great Britain has now attained that solidarity in wireless communications control the lack of which gave the United States an opportunity to come to the front; and we have arrived at a point where internal conflict is becoming a serious impediment to further progress. Struggles of the British Imperial Radio System A? 1 v w EARLY as 1910, a British imperial :hain to link the dominions with radio was discussed. The Imperial Conference in June, 191 1, recommended a state-owned system of communications and a contract to put it into operation was signed in July, 1913, after protracted negotiations with the Marconi Company. The World War prevented further progress with the plan, which would have placed British interests supreme in the field of communication. In 1 9 19, another imperial wireless telegraph committee was appointed, which drew up a plan for a chain system of stations separated by about 2000 miles. Still another committee was appointed in December, 1920, to carry out the plan. The colonies, however, grew restive at these costly delays and several negotiated directly with the Marconi Company for the erection of stations to link them with the mother country. These . independent measures confused the imperial scheme. With the coming of the coalition government in 1923, the imperial plan was again shelved and private enterprise encouraged. After months of negotiation with the Post Office Department, however, the Marconi. Company failed to obtain a satisfactory license to enter the field, with the result that still another Commission was appointed, headed by Sir Robert Donald, Chairman of the Council of the Empire Press Union. Its report, made in February, 1924, resulted in a contract with the Mar THE CONTROL ROOM OF A COMMERCIAL TRANSMITTER This array of meters and tuning controls regulates the short-wave transmissions of the San Francisco station of the Federal Telegraph Company. The control room is located at Palo Alto, California '95 coni interests for the erection of four beam stations to link England with South Africa, Australia, and India. Construction was begun in April, 1925, and service within two years. A traffic totalling 35,000,000 words annually is now being. handled. But even this is not the end of the story. After paying regular and substantial dividends for decades, the British international cable system, erected largely with capital supplied by the government and the dominions, was turned into a losing proposition by radio competition. Still another government commission was appointed with a view to protecting this immense investment and working out a traffic division or merger agreement with the radio interests. Fearing further government blunders, the two interests worked out a merger agreement, announced March 1 5 of this year. The problems of political interference and cable competition having thus been solved by amicable adjustment, British interests are now forging ahead untrammeled. The Mackay-R.C.A. Struggle IN THE United States, the Mackay interests, seeking to protect their cable investment, have embarked upon an ambitious plan to compete with the Radio Corporation in the field of communication. The R. C. A., in turn, has attempted to step into the overland communication business as a competitor to the telegraph. To that end, it has applied for construction permits to erect 65 short-wave transmitters for a domestic service linking 24 cities. At the same time, the Mackay interests are seeking to establish their own national radio system as a supplement to wires. Furthermore, powerful newspaper interests are laying plans to establish their own independent national and international communication systems and have been granted 20 of the 22 channels which they sought by the Federal Radio Commission. On all sides there is effort to duplicate facilities, many of which, experience has shown unmistakably, are unprofitable if competitive. We are opposed to a communications monopoly, although economic considerations require that no services be paralleled or duplicated unless traffic warrants. The Federal Radio Commission requires the wisest possible counsel if it is to avoid endangering the American position. International communication is a semi-public function and can be regulated to secure the advantages of monopoly without permitting its abuse. We have the most efficient telephone system in the world because it is monopolistic. We also have the lowest telephone rates, and they will remain the lowest because we have the power of regulation through public service commissions. C/