Imperial Wireless Chain
The Imperial Wireless Chain was a strategic international communications network of powerful long range
Initial scheme
In 1910 the Colonial Office received a formal proposal from the Marconi Company to construct a series of wireless telegraphy stations to link the British Empire within three years.[1] While not then accepted, the Marconi proposal created serious interest in the concept.[6]
A dilemma faced by Britain throughout the negotiations to establish the chain was that Britain owned the largest network of
Parliament ruled out the creation of a private
After further negotiations prompted by Treasury pressure, a modified contract was
Post World War I
With the end of the war and the
Parliament's decision came shortly after legal action initiated by Marconi in June 1919, claiming £7,182,000 in damages from the British government for
Under this pressure, after the
Following the Donald Report and discussions with the Dominions, it was decided that the high-power Rugby longwave station (announced on 13 July 1922 by the previous government)[21] would be completed since it used proven technology, in addition to which a number of shortwave "beam stations" would be built (so called because a directional antenna concentrated the radio transmission into a narrow directional beam). The beam stations would communicate with those Dominions that chose the new shortwave technology. Parliament finally approved an agreement between the Post Office and Marconi to build beam stations to communicate with Canada, South Africa, India and Australia, on 1 August 1924.[8]
Commercial impact
From when the Post Office began operating the "Post Office Beam" services, through to March, 31st, 1929, they had earned gross receipts of £813,100 at a cost of £538,850, leaving a net surplus of £274,250.[22]
Even before the final link became operational between Australia and Canada, it was apparent that the commercial success of the Wireless Chain was threatening the viability of the cable telegraphy companies. An "Imperial Wireless and Cable Conference" was therefore held in London in January 1928, with delegates from the United Kingdom, the self-governing Dominions, India, the Crown Colonies and Protectorates, to "examine the situation which arose as a result of the competition of the Imperial Beam Wireless Services with the cable services of various parts of the empire, to report upon it and to make recommendations with a view to a common policy being adopted by the various governments concerned."[23] It concluded that the cable companies would not be able to compete in an unrestricted market, but that the cable links remained of both commercial and strategic value. It therefore recommended that the cable and wireless interests of the Eastern Telegraph Company, the Eastern Extension, Australasia and China Telegraph Company, Western Telegraph Company and Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company should be merged to form a single organisation holding a monopolistic position. The merged company would be overseen by an Imperial Advisory Committee, would purchase the government-owned cables in the Pacific, West Indies and Atlantic, and would also be given a lease on the beam stations for a period of 25 years, for the sum of £250,000 per year.[24][25]
The conference's recommendations were incorporated into the Imperial Telegraphs Act 1929, leading to the creation of two new companies on 8 April 1929; an operating company Imperial and International Communications, in turn owned by a holding company named Cable & Wireless Limited. In 1934 Imperial and International Communications was renamed as Cable & Wireless Limited, with Cable and Wireless Limited being renamed as Cable and Wireless (Holding) Limited.[citation needed] From the beginning of April 1928 the beam services were operated by the Post Office as agent for Imperial and International Communications Limited.[22]
Transfers of ownership
The 1930s saw the arrival of the
Beam stations
The shortwave Imperial Wireless Chain "beam stations" operated in pairs; one transmitting and one receiving. Pairs of stations were sited at (transmitters first):[28]
- Tetney and Winthorpe (with Ballan and Rockbank in Australia, and with Khadki and Daund in India)
- Ongar and Brentwood
- Dorchester and Somerton
At Bodmin and Bridgwater, each aerial stretched to nearly half a mile (800 m) long, and consisted of a row of five 277 feet (84 m) high
Electronic components for the system were built at Marconi's New Street wireless factory in Chelmsford.[31]
See also
- List of Marconi wireless stations
- History of radio
- Telecommunication
References
- ^ a b Empire Wireless Papers Past, Evening Post (New Zealand), published 1923-04-23, accessed 2010-10-03
- ^ Wireless Service Papers Past, Evening Post (New Zealand), published 1921-11-21, accessed 2010-10-03
- ^ Beam Wireless Papers Past, Evening Post (New Zealand), published 1928-06-16, accessed 2010-10-03
- ISBN 019802178X.
- ^ Lescarboura, Austin C. (1922). Radio for Everybody. Scientific American Publishing Co. pp. 259–263.
- ^ a b c d e New Marconi Agreement, Hansard, Published 1913-08-08, accessed 2010-10-03
- ^ The Official History of Rugby Radio Station Subterranea Britannica, Malcolm Hancock, accessed 2010-10-04
- ^ a b c d e Post Office Contracts Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company, Limited Hansard, 1924-08-01 , accessed 2010-10-03
- ^ The Wireless Chain Papers Past, Evening Post (New Zealand), published 1915-09-11, accessed 2010-10-03
- ^ Wireless Chain Papers Past, Evening Post (New Zealand), published 1919-08-04, accessed 2010-10-03
- ^ "Wireless Service: Britain–Egypt Route". Evening Post. Vol. 103, no. 96. New Zealand. 26 April 1922. p. 7. Retrieved 12 March 2024 – via Papers Past.
- ^ Marconi Company Wins From Britain, The New York Times, published 1919-07-26, accessed 2010-10-03
- ^ Relays in the Wireless Line Papers Past, Evening Post (New Zealand), published 1921-07-16, accessed 2010-10-03
- ^ Wireless Chain Papers Past, Evening Post (New Zealand), published 1922-01-27, accessed 2010-10-03
- ^ Wireless Links Papers Past, Evening Post (New Zealand), published 1921-07-21, accessed 2010-10-03
- ^ New Wireless Services Papers Past, Evening Post (New Zealand), published 1922-08-16, accessed 2010-10-03
- ^ Link Up Wireless Chain Papers Past, Evening Post (New Zealand), published 1923-01-29, accessed 2010-10-03
- ^ Radio Communication Papers Past, Evening Post (New Zealand), published 1922-12-08, accessed 2010-10-03
- ^ Empire Wireless Papers Past, Evening Post (New Zealand), published 1924-02-25, accessed 2010-10-03
- ^ a b [1] Papers Past, Evening Post (New Zealand), published 1926-11-20, accessed 2010-10-03
- ^ High Power Wireless Papers Past, Evening Post (New Zealand), published 1923-07-18, accessed 2010-10-03
- ^ a b Beam Services, Hansard, published 1929-07-22, accessed 2010-10-04
- ^ Imperial Wireless and Cable Conference Library of Congress (Open Library), accessed 2010-10-04
- ^ Empire Communications – Cable and Wireless Merger The Canberra Times, published 1928-07-28, accessed 2010-10-04
- ^ An Important Development Papers Past, Evening Post (New Zealand), published 1928-07-10, accessed 2010-10-03
- ^ a b Imperial Telegraphs Bill Hansard, published 1938-05-30, accessed 2010-10-04
- ^ History of the Atlantic Cable & Submarine Telegraphy – Cable & Wireless Bill Glover, accessed 2010-10-04
- ^ a b c Tetney Beam Station, Paul Hewitt, Tetney County Primary School, published 2005-09-24, accessed 2010-10-04
- ^ a b Beam Wireless Papers Past, Evening Post (New Zealand), published 1927-10-05, accessed 2010-10-03
- ^ Beam Wireless – The Original Stations Shortwave Central, published 2010-11-30, accessed 2011,03-06
- ^ The Marconi Company Departments 1912–1970 Archived 20 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine Martin Bates, accessed 2010-10-04
External links
- Tetney Beam Station – Tetney County Primary School
- Dorchester Radio Station – South Dorset Radio Society