News and Views

Abstract

NEARLY everyone agrees that radio telephone services with the Dominions and distant foreign countries should be opened up whenever it is economically practical. Last August, Imperial and International Communications, Ltd., wrote to the present Postmaster-General, Mr. Lees Smith, inviting the Government to work its radio telephone services through the companys stations, beginning with four services to Canada, Australia, South Africa, and India. Whilst negotiations were going forward and before the special committee had reported, statements appeared in the Press giving an ex parte presentation of the case coupled with a series of charges against the Post Office. Mr. Lees Smith very properly did not reply until the committee had reported. The evidence showed that both the Marconi system and the Post Office Rugby system are capable of providing longdistance services to the Dominions and foreign countries. Owing to its invaluable pioneer work on short-wave systems, our sympathies are with the company, but we think that the Government has acted rightly in putting the matter into the hands of the Post Office. There is no intention of duplicating the Marconi stations, and there are many advantages in concentrating the plant and buildings at Rugby. To work the four services to India and the Dominions through stations belonging to Imperial and International Communications, Ltd., would require 4190 miles of high grade telephone circuits connected with London as compared with 786 miles to connect with the P.O. stations at Baldock and Rugby. In South Africa, also, it would be more economical to erect a station at Johannesburg than to connect with the Companys terminal beam station at Cape Town. We do not see that there was any necessity to make a comparative experimental test between the systems before coming to a decision.