AUSTRALIAN WIRELESS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20519, 21 March 1930, Page 14

AUSTRALIAN WIRELESS.

TESTS FROM RUGBY SUCCEED.

' OPENING EXPECTED SHORTLY.

>. LONDON, March 32. | Tha Government expects tho wireless .•' jtelephony . system to . Australia to be opened to the publio in April It is anticipated that tLs rate for the first • few months will be about £4 10s Jor three minutes. This rate, however, is [expected to be halved when the system is properly, working. It will be under Government control. Tests which have been carried out in the past fortnight for a quarter of an hour with-Australia, every 24 hours, are described as being brilliantly successful. Only minor adjustments are' now necessary, . Mr. W. Wellock and Lieutenant-Colonel C. Malo'ne, Labour members of the Houso of Commons, returned to London from- Rugby after investigating experiments in connection with the Government. Mr. Wellock said tho experimental masts were -350 ft. high, while the long-wavo niasts, for high-power telegraphy, were 820 ft. high. The experiments covered a wide field, including sometimes the combining of ' three-sets-to overcome nn occasional injterruption. These/were quito successful. This beam system ia. similar to the Wireless Communication ' Company's, with slight technical differences. Mr./ Wellock says the experts arc most Optimist,ic. Ho anticipated that the rate to Australia for the first few months will be about £4 10s for -.three minutes, half of the present rate ,to New York, aljthough',/he <ixpects that perhaps this will be reduced by half by tho end of one month. It is admittedly a luxury charge jat tho beginning, he says, but merely pntii.it is properly operating.

Extensive building is proceeding at * [Rugby in connection with the system. ,Thera wiil be numerous stations for Australia.' Mr. Wellock points out that mechanical!#' the' beam transmission to 'Australia costs no more than calling up |the Channel Islands. : It is now only a matter of establishing stations./ The' present high charges are /entirely due . to. preliminaries. For (example calls must be booked ahead, and operators can. then arrange for the other fend to receive them. Once liaison is properly established there will bo no. difficulties whatever; indeed, the Government'is ponfident that it will revolutionise communications throughout the Empire within |iwo year,!.:. Telephony to all the Dominions and /colonies will not be merely comparatively, but-really, cheaply established.