WORLD-WIDE WIRELESS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18349, 13 September 1921, Page 8

WORLD-WIDE WIRELESS

AUSTRALIAN COMPANY’S OFFER. (Fbou Our Own Correspondent.) SYDNEY, September 5. , There is growing insistence in Australia! that something .practical should be done in establishing direct wireless communication with Britain. Under experimental conditions messages have been already exchanged without the aid of intermediate stations, end on the strength' of them on ambitious project was placed before the Australian Government over a year ago by a powerful interest here for the immediate establishment of a service, reserving the right for the Government to tako it over on certain; conditions. At; a moment when negotiations were looking very hopeful an English scheme was announced providing for a service to Australia through intermediate stations in Egypt, India, and at Singapore. Although there was nothing/definite, and there was no evidence that the British Admiralty or the War Office or the Air Ministry had been consulted, it had the effect of suspending serious consideration- of the Australian proposal for many months. The Australian concern—Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia), Limited—having acquainted itself with the details of the English scheme, has new renewed its offer, and has pointed out defects in the English proposal which are deemed to be insuperable so far as Australia is concerned.' In o statement on the subject the chairman of the company. Sir Thomas Hughes, says that the cost of messages would he greatly increased by having to bo handled at intermediate stations, and from the aspect of efficiency a chain of stations presented serious objections. The Australian stations, in . ©uch a relay scheme, would have a radius of only about 2000 miles, whereas it would bo essential in time of war that they should be sufficiently powerful to communicate - with any part of the' world,’ in the same way as the German stations were able to maintain communications after the whole of their cables had been cut. The experimental work of the company, declared Sir Thomas, had proved beyond doubt that it was possible to have direct wireless communication between Australia and any other part of the world, and the only logical application of such knowledge was the erection of a high-power station in Australia capable of communicating across the maximum range of 12,000 miles, and making arrangements with existing stations or with special stations in all other countries for a direct exchange of messages for commercial and press purposes. Both strategically and commercially it was also essential to the success of such a scheme that every capital city in Australia should be in direct wireless with the main oversea wireless system. Such a scheme, added Sir Thomas Hughes, the company was prepared to finance and cany out either entirely on its own account or in conjunction with the Federal Government. Their justification for proposing such a great enterprise lay in the facts (bat, in addition to their own expert knowledge in conducting successfully commercial wireless services, they had the right to draw upon and to co-operate with the knowledge and experience of the principal wireless companies in England and elsewhere, and further they held an exclusive license to use in Australia and New Zealand present and future patents of the leading wirolesS systems of the ivorld.